How are your pets handling it?

[Renkat2sj]

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Hey everyone!

I have been seriously considering applying to a postbac premed program and trying to get into med school . . . but i am worried about my dog! if i go to med school will i have to give him up? Pay my roommate to take care of him? How did you handle it? Do any of you have dogs and live alone/ with a roommate?

 

[akpete]

Hi. I live alone and have a dog. The first 2 years, it really isn't as much as an issue as some people think. But it also totally depends on the school and how you study. Do you spend your studying time in the library or at home? Does the school have mandatory stuff that takes up a large chunk of time? But really, in the end, the pre-clinical years should be about the same as a normal full-time job or less. And there are PLENTY of people with dogs and full-time jobs.

Clinical years...that's another issue. I haven't gotten there yet, but I have thought about the options (send her to my mom's, doggie daycare, dog walker, roommate w/ different schedule). Will decide more on this when the time gets closer and when I know my rotation schedule.

I gotta say though, I'm home a lot, and my dog is pretty spoiled. 🙂

I suggest you get do a search on the forum. This topic has been discussed before and you'll find lots of points of view on this.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

You can spend a lot of time at home in your first two years, so that shouldn't be an issue. The downside of getting a pet, especially a dog, is that it makes it harder to find a place to live if you're not planning on buying. Also, animals can be expensive. Otherwise, they're great. I have cats instead of a dog, but I couldn't live an animal-free existence.

 

[Renkat2sj]

Sorry! I did try a search on dogs/pets and could only find veterinary stuff.

i would love to get into a chicago school- apartments in chicago are very dog-friendly. although it would definitely be trickier if i ended up somewhere else.

akpete, i was thinking the same thing. my mom, a pet sitter, best roommate ever, or maybe i can come up with a boyfriend by then. who knows? 🙂 i guess i will cross that bridge when i come to it. 🙂

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Sorry! I did try a search on dogs/pets and could only find veterinary stuff.

i would love to get into a chicago school- apartments in chicago are very dog-friendly. although it would definitely be trickier if i ended up somewhere else.

akpete, i was thinking the same thing. my mom, a pet sitter, best roommate ever, or maybe i can come up with a boyfriend by then. who knows? 🙂 i guess i will cross that bridge when i come to it. 🙂

I love pet-friendly rental places. Oklahoma City sucks for having pets -- virtually every rental ad I received through the school specifically specified "no pets." It seems a little excessive, especially since I'm willing to pay a bigger deposit.

 

[akpete]

Sorry! I did try a search on dogs/pets and could only find veterinary stuff.

i would love to get into a chicago school- apartments in chicago are very dog-friendly. although it would definitely be trickier if i ended up somewhere else.

akpete, i was thinking the same thing. my mom, a pet sitter, best roommate ever, or maybe i can come up with a boyfriend by then. who knows? 🙂 i guess i will cross that bridge when i come to it. 🙂

Oh, sorry, I hope I didn't come across as mean! I just meant that you might get some more feedback. Sorry the search didn't pan out.

Yeah, pet-friendly areas are nice. Milwaukee is fairly pet-friendly as well. However, it's mostly the bigger complexes that take dogs, and ~50/50 on private owners. So for price you kinda have to shop around.

I don't understand why more places don't take pets. I expect to pay an extra deposit and/or pet rent. If my dog would happen to do any damage (unlikely), this money would cover it for the landlord.

 

[Renkat2sj]

I love pet-friendly rental places. Oklahoma City sucks for having pets -- virtually every rental ad I received through the school specifically specified "no pets." It seems a little excessive, especially since I'm willing to pay a bigger deposit.

i think how it really works is, landlords that cater to students can get away with this more. in my old college town, no way, you couldnt have a dog anywhere. because it was a college town. we had to stay somewhere, so we just had to suck it up and not have pets.

bigger cities, though, have to cater to people's needs more competitively. if i want to live in an apartment in chicago and you wont let me bring my dog, there are ten other places that will. so it is a lot smarter for them to allow them.

so, lets just hope my plan works and i can get into a chicago school . . .

 

[beefballs]

pets are a real good thing and i strongly advocate them but you need to budget them time whether you have exams plans or etc.. I love my dog to deaht, and he always likes me which is incredibly comforting from time to time

 

[getunconcsious]

I have cats instead of a dog, but I couldn't live an animal-free existence.

I too am all about the kitties 😍 They aren't near as burdensome to take care of as dogs, and they provide quite a bit of companionship.

I'm an MS2 and I have a cat, 2 finches, a fishtank, and 1 gecko. Granted, they're all fairly low-maintenance but it just goes to show that you don't have to give up animals for med school. Like exlawgrrl, I couldn't personally give up animals. I have a friend and classmate who's a total gunner and she has a dog that she takes great care of. If you have to have a dog, it can be done. If you just want a warm fur-person to cuddle with who's low-maintenance, then a cat is probably for you. You can find sweet, adult cats who are de-clawed and spayed and looking for homes at most animal shelters. That's how I got my Luna and I've never regretted it!

 

[SitraAchra]

*grain of salt* - GetUnconscious abused his previous lizard, an anole named Lyle, by handling him too roughly.


😕 👎 😡

 

[cfdavid]

I'm kind of bumbed, but I should have known better. I have a 3 1/2 yo golden retriever. So, needless to say, they require a lot of excersise (and attention). She's the best.

The bummer is that it seems I'm in class/at school for too many hours during the day. I decided it wasn't the best for her, but I hope that once anatomy is over (and therefore, the long labs) I can get her back (she's currently living with my mom). She's my buddy..... "my daughter", and I really miss her. But, I just can't stand to have her couped up all day in my small (pet friendly, mind you) flat. I'm still working out a longer term solution.......

I have been notified of a local dog walker that only charges $5.00/hour and I serously think I may do that after this unit. Then, I'll still take her for at least 1 walk per day. So, that should be good. We'll see.

 

[getunconcsious]

*grain of salt* - GetUnconscious abused his previous lizard, an anole named Lyle, by handling him too roughly.


😕 👎 😡

I did NOT abuse Lyle! Lyle enjoyed sitting on my hand. He was an energy parasite!

 

[psipsina]

I totally agree that cats are the way to go. My furrbabies are here for me whenever I'm stressed out to cuddle and purr and make me generally feel better. And taking care of them really takes no time at all. I have a water fountain thing for them that I only fill up about every 5 days and they always have fresh cool running water (they won't drink from a bowl, when they only had a bowl they'd drink from dripping faucets or the toilet instead!! uk!). The have a huge doggy bowl full of dry food so that doesn't need to be refilled that often, and unlike dogs they pace themselves and don't overeat. So the only other chores are the kitty litter, which I do everyotherday so it is neve too overwhelming, and probably a bit more frequent sweeping because their furballs are very visible on hardwood floors. But this is totally doable and worth the cuddlin I get in return. Studies have shown that when you pet your pet a bunch of dopamine dumps into your pleasure center which is a very very good thing when you are stressed out. I would love to have doggies but don't have a yard big enuf for any of the breeds I really love, and finding a dog friendly apartment is much more difficult than a cat friendly apartment in this city. Also dogs are more difficult to evacuate with all the frequent potty stops.

 

[bjackrian]

I have two rabbits (Flopsy and Mopsy) who I love and highly recommend. (To answer the obvious question, they're both girls and they're both spayed 😉 )

Anyway, they're great med school pets because they're active at dawn and dusk and less active during the day, so they don't mind not having people around. Having two of them also helps, since they've bonded and they play with each other when they get bored.

They're really cheap (I probably spend less than $20/month on them, mostly for litter, timothy hay, and pellets plus $100/year for a vet check-up). We share oatmeal and veggies with them, which doesn't add much cost wise because our veggies had a bad habit of going bad before we could finish eating them. For toys, they love abandoned cylinder containers (oatmeal and raisin containers), toilet paper rolls, etc. We tried buying them fancy pet store toys, but they weren't interested at all. Ditto with treats--they love raisins, bananas, and strawberry tops, but don't really like store bought rabbit treats. So yeah, very cheap pets.

They take up a small amount of space in an apartment (we built them a cage out of those wire stackable shelf squares that you buy at Target). They're neat--they'll use a litter box quite well

My one caveat is to make sure you get rabbits that are well socialized. My wife has been working at an animal shelter, and the rabbits definitely vary a lot. If you get a well-socialized rabbit, they can be very friendly to you, but poorly socialized rabbits will spray urine, bite, etc.

Overall though, rabbits are a great pet for us, and I highly recommend them.

 

[indiamacbean]

I have a big dog and made it through all the way to fourth year and have done well with no problems. you'll have to find someone to take your dog out when your on call but thats what friends are for.