I like my dog, but I don't plan to ever own another. Besides money, she costs a lot in time and convenience. Food and water. Walk her morning (feel bad if I sleep in too long), noon, and night. Brush her and vacuum often (sheds a lot). Clip her nails frequently (which is a struggle), or her feet will hurt. Give her a bath every couple weeks. Wash her bed. Take her to the vet. Give her monthly prescription meds for fleas/ticks/heartworm. Clean up when she gets sick. If we want to leave home for more than like 8 hours, we have to take her along (if dogs are allowed where we're going) or get a sitter. It's all manageable, but personally, I would just rather not have the responsibility, even for a dog that's not high maintenance. And I'm not sure I like the "dog culture" I live in where the outside of my building always smells like pee, there's pee in the elevator every morning, dog shit appears in random places, people let their big dogs play off leash, dogs left alone spend all day barking, etc...
Yeah... maybe I'm lucky to be from an area where dog ownership is more common and the responsibilities more well known, but it's shocking how many Brooklyn yuppies I know who learned this lesson the hard way.
This right here is why I'm a cat person. Cats are not as playful as dogs, but they are also so much less work. We have two, and as long as their automatic feeder is full and they have plenty of water, we can leave them unattended for days at a time no problem. They also require stimulation, but much less than a dog.
