Since I’ve been in college, there has been a growing number of ‘dog mom’, ‘cat moms’, and Instagram pages people make for their pets. It’s extremely adorable, and I love that people are finding joy and caring for another being.
But that can often make people want to join in on the trend, without asking themselves if they’re ready to care for a pet.
Popular animals like cats and dogs come with a vet bill, supplies, time to spend with them either playing or exercising, and knowing if someone can care for them if you’re out of town. If you decide to become a pet parent, it is a commitment.
Yet it is one that I deeply love and has brought so much joy to me. I was talking to my friend about why she decided to adopt a dog and why I decided to adopt a cat, and we both wanted someone to love. My friend said she didn’t want her existence to only be caring for herself, which is a statement that I love and reflects how she cares for her pet. For me, I’ve been struggling with bouts of depression and my cat, Junie B, has comforted me in the hard days. But I’m most thankful for her the days that I struggle to do my homework, do my dishes, or make dinner because whenever I can’t do anything for myself, I know that I can do them for her. I make myself get up and make sure she has food, change out her water, and make sure she’s okay.
We all know that college is a hard time, filled with busy schedules, lack of money, and we may not have the resources or capacity to care for pets right now. But we have other ways to help. The Humane Society of Stillwater takes volunteers that will come and play with the dogs, and Tiny Paws takes volunteers to come and bottle feed kittens and more. If you can’t adopt now and need some volunteer hours, this could be a great resource.
If you are looking to become a pet parent, you want to take on the commitment and to love this pet. I encourage you to use the adoption resources that we have in Stillwater. Many of these facilities don’t have enough resources to care for all of the animals that come in and adopting can mean saving a life. We have the Humane Society of Stillwater, Stillwater Animal Shelter, and for kittens specifically, we have Tiny Paws.