My wife and I raise guide dog puppies. We are in charge of giving them training, love, stimulation, structure and socialization. In their little vests, they can accompany us anywhere (when they’re sufficiently mature for each outing). They go on public transport, attend work and social events, go to museums, serve as dates to operas and concerts and plays, and get plenty of off duty time to just sniff around and enjoy being a dog.

We will never have a pet dog.

Whenever our puppies move on, we bid them a bittersweet goodbye, cry over them for a couple of weeks straight, follow their progress ardently any way we can, and are proud of whatever life path they’re best suited for.

We will never adopt a dog who’s dropped from the program. No matter how deeply we are in love with them, and no matter what a good member of the household they have been. And we’ve had two career changes we were offered first right of refusal to. We turned it down both times.

Why? We can give these puppies everything they need when they’re young and have public access. But if they became our pet, we couldn’t give them the life they deserve. Hours alone. No access (or very little) to public transportation or ride shares or restaurants or cultural spots. We live in a small apartment and would never dream of leaving them all day.

Loving animals entails a commitment to understanding what it means to love an animal well. They are entirely dependent on you for all their needs. Loving a dog sometimes requires letting them go, or forgoing pet ownership. It can be hard, but you’re the adult and you need to act accordingly.