My youngest brought home a dog.

[Zimmer]

I'm not thrilled to say the least, but what can you do against two pairs of puppy eyes. After a half an hour of discussions and promises I let him keep it. I warned him if I end up taking care of it, he can say goodbye to his allowance for a whole year. Do you think this will teach him some responsibility?

 

[Jack]

I don't know if it will teach him responsibilitiy or not. I'm kind of wondering if it will teach you how to say "No" in the future or if you will be heading to the pound to get this pup a pal!

 

[Lorenzo]

Was it a stray dog? I'm asking because you don't know for sure if it has an owner who's looking for it. If your kid gets too attached, letting the dog go might be heartbreaking for him (or for you). If he really wants to adopt a dog, I believe there are centers for that, and which come with the necessary (ownership) papers, too.

 

[polamalu43]

Funny! I tried this once when I was a kid. My parents were so mad! It is cool that you are letting him keep the dog. Dogs are expensive but great companions. I do think it will teach him responsibility.

 

[Salazar]

If he doesn't hold up his end of the bargain and you follow through with taking his allowance away, I think that will definitely teach him responsibility. Hopefully it won't come to that, though.

 

[Zimmer]

I'm pretty sure he was a stray. He didn't have a collar and from what I could deduce he's a mutt. People around here are too uptight to keep a mixed-breed dog.

 

[Bearsfan]

I'm sure your son will do some of the caretaking, but I don't know about all. There's something about taking a dog for a walk when it's cold and wet that really tests a kid's resolve.

 

[John]

We've all been there

I know we've all been on both the bringing home side and the "who's-going-to-take-care-of-this-creature?" side of things. Good luck, and I'll bet a lot of love will be coming your way, both the canine and the human kind.

 

[Don]

I would recommend taking it to the vet for a check-up before your son gets too attached to it. My wife's friend brought in a stray and it had Parvo. There were lots of medical bills and now she has to keep an eye on the other dogs they already had.

 

[Sinbian]

I think we've all been there where your kid is now. My mom was pretty relentless and strict in this regard so I stayed without big pets while growing up.