Are you keeping your child's left-behind pet?

Are you currently housing a pet for your son or daughter? When my son went off to college three years ago his cute pug stayed behind to “keep me company”. He is cute and I don’t exactly mind having him but I wouldn’t mind not having him either. My friends all laugh every time I say that as soon as my son gets an apartment that allows pets, he’ll take his dog. They all swear I’ll have him forever! Although I refuse to acknowledge it to them, they may be right! It turns out that cute little puggy is allergic to just about everything. My vet says she’s never seen a dog that is so allergic to so many things. As a result, the dog eats only prescription dog food and takes a pill every day. In short, apartment regulations aside, I doubt my son will be able to afford to house this dog any time soon.

I have a friend who has a visla that her son, who is now 30 or so, left behind when he went off to college. Recently, her son got a Rhodesian ridgeback puppy, discovered he couldn’t keep it and dropped it off at her house as well! Okay, obviously she has some boundary issues. Still, it got me thinking that perhaps this phenomenon is fairly widespread. I Googled it every way I could think of and couldn’t find any references but I think a lot of people out there are caring for their children’s leftover pets. There are five kids in my family and we had a cat when we were growing up. The old cat had the good manners to die naturally within a year of the youngest child leaving home. Actually I did finally find two references but both were for animal shelters. I guess that is how some people deal with this issue but it is not a choice for me. Our dog is pretty young so I don’t think my parent’s escape is going to work for me either!

Don’t get me wrong, I do actually love my son’s dog. He’s cute, he’s funny and he is entertaining. On the flip side, he sheds like crazy, needs a lot of attention, needs a caretaker whenever I leave town and is a real consideration whenever I entertain. Although I can afford him more easily than my son can, he’s also EXPENSIVE! My all-wise, all-knowing friends say I’ll miss him when he’s gone but I don’t think so. At this point my son, a college senior, is still planning to re-claim his dog. I hope he does but I’ve been wondering about the possibility that he may not be able to.

So, are you housing your child’s pet? Do you think it will be a permanent arrangement? How are you dealing with it?