I really feel bad for animals that get taken in by irresponsible people. Before getting ANY kind of pet, it’s always important to research.
First- can YOU afford it? And it’s not just a financial expense, it will take time. If you have a job, if you go to college, if you have an active social life, or if you find yourself going out of town a lot then getting a pet might not be in the animal’s best interests. Regardless of species or breed, animals need supervision, interaction, and attention. Even reptiles shouldn’t be left alone for more than a day. If you cannot afford the time- don’t get a pet. If you cannot afford to feed that pet, attend to its vet bills, get it spayed or neutered, and provide for other financial needs on a regular basis- you should not get a pet. Even a cat requires at least $60 a month. That’s food and litter alone. If you feed a low-quality generic brand food, you can add $1000 every three years for some kind of health problem ranging from bad skin to urine crystals. If you have a dog you’ll have to spend about $30-60 on food a month, and up to $80 for flea and tick treatments. If you can’t have $100 on hand just for your pet- you shouldn’t get one.
Secondly- research the species and breed. While every animal is an individual, their species and breeds give a good general guideline to what you can expect. If you are athletic, have time to take a companion with you every day, and you spend some time at home then a high energy dog might work. If you’re not too athletic but you spend a lot of time at home, a cat or a low energy dog might work. If you lead an active lifestyle and spend maybe just nights at home to sleep- a pet shouldn’t even cross your mind. At all. If you think that it’ll be okay to train a pet to sit in a crate for 8 hours a day and then all through the night with maybe 3-4 hours of human interaction you are wrong. If you think that you can burden your friends and family with your pet out of obligation to YOU so YOU can go out and live your life then you are wrong.
Researching breeds is huge. And I don’t mean googling to find out what your favorite celebrities like as pets- they can freakin’ afford a kenneling service or private caretakers just for the animals. You cannot. Dogs have purposes, and they are only happy when they are fulfilling those tasks. A golden retriever, for instance, is a very calm, gentle dog. They are bred and trained to be soft-mouthed dogs. They love playing fetch, they love just going out on walks, they love running and playing, and they live to please. Gun dogs are high energy, they are smart but that intelligence can also lead to behavior problems, they are high risk for separation anxiety, and they will act out if they are not mentally stimulated. Cats are independent, yes, but they do enjoy the company of people. They aren’t dogs. They will come to you in their own way, in their own time. They’re not naturally social animals and you cannot discipline them the way that you would a dog.
When an animal goes bad it’s never the fault of the animal, it’s the fault of the human. People want to get a pet for company, for fun, because the animal is cute, or for attention but if they don’t bother putting the work and research in, they should not be pet owners. Then the animal acts out and guess what? The animal becomes a problem not only for the owner and the animal itself but anyone else that has to deal with it.