I was invited to a beach and to watch fireworks on the 4th. I couldn't have my dog at a fireworks display, obviously, and didn't want to leave him home all day with firecrackers going off. Too scary for him. So, I just hung out with him at home.

i've had to give a lot of 'regrets' over the years because of my dogs. while some people think i'm nuts, others understand. my pups are my kids and like parents with human children, my dogs come first.

I think having a cat is a lot easier than having a dog. Although, I do often feel guilty when leaving him alone for long periods of time. Plus, my parents live almost 5 hours away from me, so when I visit them I usually stay for like a week, so I have to take my cat with me. It's always a huge production taking the cat in the car. He cries almost the entire time. It's awful and I feel terrible.

This happens to me all the time. Thankfully we can take the dogs with us most places that we go, but if we can't we only have a certain time window that they can be home by themselves. Most non-pet people don't understand that and I've taken a lot of flack for it, but oh well, they don't have the joy of a pet that loves them unconditionally in their lives. We've even cancelled entire vacations because we couldn't find a pet sitter. (I don't board them at a kennel they have a stay in sitter or visit at a home but no kennels)

I also hate to leave them home by themselves at night if I have been at work all day, its just not fair to them. Another thing that even some pet owners don't understand. With my guys if you don't entertain them for a good part of the day they will keep us up all night long.

My thought is that, I knew what I was getting into when I brought them home and I wouldn't trade it in for the world! So what if the whole world doesn't understand, they are the ones missing out, not me!

Yes! My SO and I can't leave for the weekend on a whim without thinking of our pets. When my previous dog became diabetic and needed insulin injections twice a day, I always had to make sure I'd be home by then. No breaks on weekends! But it was all worth it.

I do constantly and a lot of people think I am just making up excuses. I could care less. My dogs are more important. What is the point in having pets if you aren't going to be around to spend time with them?? Not to mention their short life spans. People can kiss my booty!

I won't leave B-Bop home alone for an length of time, so whenever we get invited places, if I can't find a GOOD sitter ( I won't take him to a kennel or somewhere he doesn't know the people) then I won't go. It might sound sad or whatever, but I spend more time with him then anyone else. I work from home so I'm just as attached to him as he is to me. He is my baby

I couldn't have said it better Aphrosette!

We actually had to do that a lot with one of our kitties. We found her when she was just a couple of days old and bottle raised her, so for several weeks we had a regular formula feeding schedule for her. When she was about three weeks old my hubby was in an out of town wedding (about five hours away) and she needed to be fed every three hours, so I stayed back at home. We were embarrassed to tell the real reason, though...there was nothing to be ashamed of (the poor little thing needed us, after all!) but I think we just said I had to work so my husband's friends didn't get offended.

Every morning my boyfriend drops the dogs off at my mom's, and then in the evening I pick them up. It feels like dropping them off at school or day care...

I was thinking about this today and since I'm home all day and B-Bop could do with some friends, does anyone know how to go about getting bonded and insured to be a petsitter??

Yes! When my cat was decalwed I didn't want to leave him because he would bite his stitches.

Yep! Actually not that long ago I bowed out of going to a bar after dinner because someone had to go home to take care of the dog, and my husband was out at a birthday party. My parents often "dogsit" if we're going out somewhere for more than a few hours, or if they're not home I'll still drop my dog off so she can hang out with their dogs and watch the birds and squirrels in the backyard.

I always refer to my cats (not so much the dogs) as "the children!!!"

I call my dogs my kids. They really are. Unless you have one, it's hard to explain to someone else that the "but my dogs" excuse is really legitimate. I would never leave my kids home at night if I have been at work all day - goodbye Friday happy hour and after work dinner dates. I would never leave for the weekend with them just stuck in the house with a friend dropping by only twice a day - forget, a kennel...in my opinion, those are doggy prisons. They go where I go, if they can't they stay at a puppy resort or with my parents. Traveling without them, just isn't as much fun though, I prefer to go where they go or not go at all. No boyfriend will ever compare to the love I get from my boy, Boodah. If the boyfriend doesn't love them - I'll never love him. It's puppy love for me!

Samson is my baby, and I don't like leaving him to sit at night after I've been at work all day. If plans are made too early, I just say I'll show up late in order for him to get a good walk/playtime in. And thankfully, we usually go out close to home, so we can get back to the apartment to go for potty breaks.

He isn't alone for more than 5 hours (max) at a time, and thats just fine with me!

thanks kiwi!

My 7 month old pug, Bowser, is my baby. He needs so much attention and I would much rather play with him then go out. However, it is nice to get away now and then. If he doesn't get much attention during the day then we always makes up for it in the evening. My life has definitely changed since he came into it. In a good way, of course.

omg Lisa! bowser is adorable.

i definitely feel like there are many things i can't do because of max. of course i don't mind, i love him, but he is a major consideration when any plans are made.

Definitely- Brando is like our child! We can't be spontaneous and go away for weekends without making plans for him first. The weekend he got neutered we had to skip a big party for work because I didn't want to leave him alone. Non pet owners really do have a hard time understanding, but it's totally worth it.

Of course my pup is a huge consideration in any plans I make. But I just found a cage free day care that she absolutely loves, so that makes things easier. If my day gets busy, I just drop her off for some play time.

My hubby and I don't leave our 2 boxers home alone for more than a couple hours. They get really worked up when we are both gone! Our dogs are definitely like our children.My parents think I am crazy but my husbands parents totally understand. It's funny how different people perceive it!

Who ever said they hate leaving their dogs home at night after being gone all day, my gosh I totally agree.. At the same time, it's really been a sacrifice and I am thinking of getting another dog just to keep mine company so I can do more..

After reading all of this, I wish I knew you guys in real life! People just don't get it, and it would be so nice to have friends to hang out with that have the same dog situation, and so therefore do dog friendly things, or plan things like a dog owner would.

I know I can't take a leave that'll take weeks because I'd worry about my cat. Someone takes care of her, but it's still different if it's me right there with her. Same with our dogs.

Although I have to say that "because of the cat/dog" is the wrong kind of reasoning, I think it's more like "because of myself"! I worry myself much

It's funny that this should come up as I got my rear handed to me by a co-worker recently over this very same subject! We (the entire office staff) were having a drink after work and I had to leave early to let the dogs out - so I said "I have to go and take care of the kids". Apparently the wrong choice of words?? She launched into a 15 minute speech explaining to me (kidless) that having a human child is very different from owning 2 dogs (really captain obvious???). I was so shocked that anyone would take such a offense that I just left without responding...I found out later that she was not a dog person...or an animal person for that matter. I now avoid her at all costs!

This happens to us all the time! My husband and I don't have kids, but if we get invited for a weekend trip or something, the first thing we discuss is "What are we going to do with the pets?" Most of the time, we end up not going or having my mom watch our dog and cat (she is a fellow dog person and definitely understands the situation!).

Since we got Viva, I haven't been going out much. We do take her to our friends' house though. They have 2 dogs and a dog friendly yard. Their parties are always puppy parties and have usually up to 8 dogs there at once. She loves visiting her friends!