Anne said, quite eloquently: "There is not a person out there who can absolutely guarantee that >nothing in their lives will ever change. That they might have to give >up their pets sometime in the future." To which you replied: "Again, if you can't handle your life changing with a pet, DO NOT become a pet owner. You don't give up your family when your life changes." No offense, but that has to be one of the most narrow-minded statements I've ever read. Can you *guarantee* that you will never have any sort of life-changing event that will turn your world upside-down? What if you were to lose your job, & all your savings had to go to feeding your human family, cos you couldn't find a new job right away? What if the main breadwinner in your family had the same thing happen to them? What if you were to come down w/ a devastating life-long illness, & there was no way physically or financially possible to take care of your pets? You'd simply stand there & watch your beloved pets starve to death slowly? Let me tell you something. Your statement above makes no sense in the *real* world. Although I'm married & it's not an issue w/ me, if I were single, *I'd* have to sit there & watch my pets starve to death, in your perception. 15 yrs ago, I developed multiple sclerosis. I owned my own business - a Ballet studio. Although I was able to keep on plugging away for a further 8 yrs, the day came when I just physically couldn't cut it anymore, & I had to sell my business. I didn't own ferrets at that point, but if I were single, I'd have had to sit there & watch my 2 cats die, because, after all I can't give up my family when my life changes, right? Fast forward to today. I now have a teaching job (dance) in the theatre dept of a small, well-known college. I only have one section per semester, so it's not as hard on me as it was teaching 8 hrs a day. And what happens? About 2 mos ago, I was dx'd w/ rheumatoid arthritis - a *bad* case, at that. I *may* have to give up *this* job, as well, as the last thing I want to do is mash my joints to a pulp. Were I not married, I guess I'd have to keep my 1 cat & 5 ferrets, & let them die, even if I couldn't physically or financially take care of them anymore, right? Moral: There, but for the grace of God, goes everyone on this planet, pet owner or not. You don't know *what* might bite you in the butt tomorrow, next wk, next yr, next decade. But, what *ever* happens, don't give your beloved pet a chance at a new life, whatever you do! Keep it, watch it die. Right? Is that *really* what you believe? Nonsense. Don't be so quick to judge. Karma can be a b*tch. I've seen enough people make broad-based, judgmental statements like that, & they've later had to eat their words, cos *they* ended up becoming the kind of person they were so quick to mock earlier. (And, FYI, I *do* help out at a shelter, whenever I can. The closest shelter to me is a 1.5 hr drive away, but I donate supplies, give money, &, in this last instance, my husband & I paid for a major supply of Lupron that the shelter desperately needed. I've helped out physically when I've had the time to do so. So don't think I'm some clueless idealist. I'm by no means an expert, but I *do* have some idea of what goes on out there.) Lin, Ariel, Oberon, Max, Puck, & Ivan [Posted in FML issue 5223]