The Thoughtful Pet Guardian’s Checklist

The following checklist is designed as a questionaire by which a prospective pet owner can get an understanding about pet ownership responsibilities and their ability to respond to these responsibilities.

Place fill out Janice's checklist and thoughtfully determine if you are ready to get a pet. Look at it from the pet's side and make sure you can meet the pet's needs -- physically, medically and emotionally. If you need further help on deciding what type of pet fits your lifestyle visit the various pet pages at PGAA.com or e-mail PGAA with your questions.

This document is protected by international copyright, © 2007 by Janice Marie Phelps. All rights reserved.

How much time every day do I have to give a pet? ______________________________________________

How much exercise will my pet need? ___________________________________________________________

How much out-of-the-cage/crate time will my pet need every day? _______________________________

How much money every month can I afford to spend on my pet? ____________________________________________________

For those who live alone: Who will care for my pet if I become ill or am away from home? ____________________________________________________

For those who live with others: “I have asked my spouse/family/children/significant other how they felt about adding a pet to our home, and this is what they said . . .” _______________________________________

Is there anyone in my home under the age of ten or over the age of seventy, or who is disabled? _____________________________________________________

If so, how would having this type of pet in the home impact their life? How will any impact be dealt with? ________________________________________________________________

Is there anyone in the home with anger management issues, e.g., with a “bad temper”? Is this pet going to present challenges to this person? _________________________________________________________________________________

Will this pet need extra attention in the first few weeks it is in my home? If so, do I have the time and energy to give to it? _____________________________________________________________

Is there any chance that anyone in the home could be allergic to this pet? If so, what will be done? _________________________________________________________

How many hours of the day am I away from the house? _______________________________________

Is that likely to change? ______________________________________________________________

Do I have physical limitations that would affect my ability to care for this animal? ______________________________________________

When life events occur (birth of a child, marriage, divorce, financial setbacks, illness) how committed will I be to keeping my pet? Have I demonstrated this level of commitment in other situations in the past? ____________________________________________________________________

Are there other pets in the home? _______________________________________________________

How do these species typically interact? ________________________________________________

Does my current pet have any behavior issues that I should consider (i.e., food aggression, sexual maturity)? _________________________________________________________________

Where will my pet sleep? ______________________________________________________________

Have I read at least one book on this species? ___________________________________________

Do I know anyone else with this species/breed of animals who will give me help and advice? _____________________________________________________________________________________________

Notes: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This document is protected by international copyright, © 2007 by Janice Marie Phelps. All rights reserved.

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