Dear Homeward Bound,
I really really want a dog but my mom says they are a lot of work and that she’s not sure I am ready for the responsibility.
I want to prove to her that I am ready; can you tell me the things I need to do to show her I could take care of a dog?
Hopeful
 
Dear Hopeful,
I have to say your mom is right! Dogs, and pets of any kind, are a lot of work. But they also bring you twice as much joy and are totally worth it.
It will be hard for you to show your mom you are ready for a dog without actually having one there to care for, but here are a few ideas. Mostly, taking care of dogs takes time so you could do things like make it a habit to be up in plenty of time to get ready for school and have everything done. When you are all ready to go to school and just waiting for the bus you could say “Wow. Look at all this extra time I have that I could be using to feed the dog or play with him.”
You could make a calendar of all the activities you do every week and highlight the empty squares to show your mom when you would have extra time for your dog. But be prepared, your calendar might show you that you really don’t have the daily time a dog needs and then your choice would be to tell your mom that you want to drop one or another activity to make time for the dog.
You could start a savings jar for your dog and put money that you’ve earned or part of your allowance in it. That way you could show your mom that you know it also takes money to care properly for a dog and you are prepared to help.
You could do online research about the different energy levels of different kinds of dogs and of the difference between puppies and adult dogs. Maybe you and your mom could compromise on a dog who was older, more settled, and wouldn’t take all the time that a puppy would.
Good luck and remember, even if your mom says no to a dog right now, things could be different in the future.
Homeward Bound