Every pet I've ever had -- and it's quite a few -- is because someone else didn't do what they were supposed to. It's not a chosen or preferred cause of mine, it's a result of, out of basic decency, not having a choice: I've stepped up because someone had to.

IMO there's shockingly little overlap between people who have pets and people who ought to.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/04/want-to-truly-have-empathy-for-animals-stop-owning-pets