I've got two dogs. And while I've been cleaning lately, I've become hyper - aware of how much they shed (a lot, I should add.)
I have always been a firm believer that dogs are a part of the family and you don't just get rid of them when they're no longer convenient to have. I know too many people who have gotten rid of their puppies when they weren't cute and little anymore, and it has just broken my heart.
HOWEVER, I was thinking this morning... what happens if my child is allergic to my dogs? Will I get rid of them?? It's not something I want to think about, because my dogs were my first babies... but what would you do if you were faced with this situation?
Just curious
Re: hypothetical dog discussion
For the record, this situation would absolutely destroy me.
Now I'm not sure I could handle having a pet, even though I'd like one. My husband is also allergic. I start to wheeze and need my inhaler if I get too much dog or cat fur on me.
I think it really depends on the severity. If it affected my kids' breathing I think I would have to strongly consider my options, as hard as it would be.
My mom adopted one of her older cats from just this kind of thing. Though to be fair, they had the kid first (he was 4), then adopted a kitten, then found out kid was allergic to kitten. So we took her in. She was crazy skittish, since she lived with a preschooler and a toddler, but once she realized no one in our house was going to pull her tail or anything like that, she was a total cuddle bug. I still miss that kitty, she was a sweetie.
Thankfully my only pet right now lives in a cage, so I don't think I'd have much of a problem keeping kid and pet separate if she was super allergic. But I agree with others, try every option possible before rehoming; you adopt a pet for life, not just while they're cute/convenient (kid in situation above was deathly allergic, it set of his asthma big time. So it was kind of understandable.)
I love my pets but if a child is alergic I do think it can be appropriate to rehome a pet, it really depends on the situation.
I'm not a pediatrician and neither was she, but it's a good point to bring any potential allergy concerns to your pediatrician before making drastic changes or assumptions at home as there might be something else going on, even if it seems obvious to you regardless of his you feel about possibly rehoming pets.