Two more reasons our family won't be getting a dog

I am NOT a pet lover. I like other people's pets, usually, but prefer them to remain other people's pets and to come over to our yard only to be petted or played with. I didn't grow up with pets, and I'm sure that if I had, I wouldn't feel so strongly against having them. Well, that's not entirely true: my brother did have a pet hamster for two years, but he stayed primarily in his cage and slept most of the day.

A few of my reasons for not wanted a dog specifically and a pet more generally include the following:

• Hair in the house. Dog and cat hair bother me and almost disgust me when it is almost all over the place, though again I can handle it better if it's someone else's place than I'm sure I would if it were my own.
• Animals tracking dirt into the house. I have kids who do plenty of that. But at least with kids, you can have a rule that they remove their shoes before entering the kitchen or other living spaces.

• Vet expenses. I have heard some stories about how much people have paid at the vet's office, even for routine care. I think I would be accused of negligence in care of my pet if I had one.
• What to do with a dog when going out of town. It's another thing to think about and take care of when packing everyone up.

So what has me on this rampage of sorts? I found two more reasons today not to get a dog. Actually, my lawn mower found them. Even after I had picked up one other reason before mowing the lawn. Between all our neighbors, there are 5 dogs now that are regularly in our yard, and two others that are rarely here. But they have rarely given us gifts in our yard. So I blame the dog my most immediate neighbor just brought home a few weeks ago. But alas, not a big deal; I just sprayed the wheels off a couple times and reminded myself why we will not get our own dog.

That being said, we did just order a tadpole a few days ago, which should be coming in the mail in November. I am kind of excited about that one, as are my boys. But I do not plan to venture too much further than that into the world of pets.

That's just me.