How old will you be/were you when you decided not to get any more dogs (or cats)?

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36. My Dad adopted a dog when he was 73 years old

He was recovering from heart surgery and was told to walk a lot so he got a dog to walk himself around as well as the dog.

Sadly, my Dad died less than 2 years later and that left my mother to care for the dog and she did not mind a bit as she loved dogs.

She took that dog everywhere with her and even flew him on a plane to go visit her foster sister. Her world revolved around the dog and if the dog was not welcome where she was, then she left.

She died a few years later and I stepped up to the plate and swore that I would care for the dog for the rest of his life which included a need to be professionally groomed every six weeks (!) .

I kept my word. The dog lived to be abt. 10 years old and I was devastated when he died!

He was a lovely dog and he got along pretty good with the cats I had at that time. I recall sitting in a recliner crying my eyes out after the dog had died and my old white kitty that lived to be 18 years old jumped on my lap and licked the tears off my cheek. She was such a loving cat and she loved the dog too and missed him greatly.

I have zero regrets and I am glad I was able to care for him until his time came. I am also glad that I was able to do this for Mother as it was really the very least I could do for her and the dog too and I knew that this was the most important thing I could do for her after she was gone and that was to care for her beloved dog which became ... my beloved dog!

As for the cats I have today, I can only hope that should I die that some one some where will "step up to the plate" so to speak. When I begin to worry abt. it, I think to myself, "Had I not adopted these cats from the shelter, they would have been put down if no one had come to adopt them so why should I not adopt and care for them if I can and am willing to do so?".

I just hope I never get to the point that I cannot but I refuse to allow this fear to rule my life as it may be insignificant hopefully. You cannot let fear ruin your life and if having a dog/cat/whatever to make your life better (and the animal's life too) well ... don't allow it to have that much power in your life. That's what I think ...

If you really are concerned you can set-up a "pet trust" but details surrounding this idea have been rather dubious I've noted. That said, it may work very well depending on your situation and if you have money to set-up something like this. It is costly, I know that much.