You’re not being unreasonable one bit; and I say that as a lifelong dog owner. My dog is my life, she comes everywhere with me within reason, we centre our life around her - we’re in a remote cottage on holiday right now chosen for good dog walks and dog friendly pubs! But could I do any of that if I wasn’t a dog person? Would I do that for another animal or even person who I didn’t want to dedicate my life to? Not a fucking chance!
Having a dog, and that that comes with it is bloody hard work. People buy dogs often for all the wrong reasons, because they want an Andrex Puppy, because they think they’re cute, because they want a best friend, because they think they’re easier than having a baby and they’ll receive unconditional love of a being that won’t then develop their own mind and life away from them…. this has actually been said to me and it drives me mad!
The truth is, that if you do not want to essentially dedicate your life to their well-being (much as you would do with a child), then a dog is really not for you. My dog has a job, she is a working breed with retrieving and flushing instincts, and we use those instincts to give her purpose and focus. If we didn’t do that, we know she would become bored, destructive, exhibit poor behaviour due to not having an active brain and body. That would not be her fault; it’s is entire the fault of a shitty and unrealistic owner when any of those behaviours set in with a dog that has come to them from pup without pre-existing issues. Rescues are then an entirely different matter and increased level of dedication; people have idealistic views that they’re always going to be getting a well trained former companion of an older person who has passed away. 9 times out of 10 you’re not, you’re rehabilitating either an animal that has been abused, and will have trust issues, resource guarding issues, struggle to understand intentions, aggressive behaviour due to fear etc, OR, it’s a dog that has developed issues due to simply poor handling, or a huge change of circumstance for former owners, abandonment etc that will need huge amounts of training and behavioural therapy. Taking in a rescue, should really be considered to be deciding if you would accept someone being released from a youth offending institute or a prison into your home, someone unpredictable, with a complex past, who you need to reintegrate into society and support mentally and physically along the way. It would distinctly sharpen the sense of those going into it for the wrong reasons, and above all would protect the welfare of the dogs involved who end up on a roundabout of rescue > new home > rescue > repeat,
TLDR - Animals of any kind aren’t for everyone, I wish more people would admit they aren’t a dog/cat/rabbit/horse person and just not have one, rather than following trends or buying a designer dog to keep up with the Jones’s. They aren’t play things, they are a commitment for the rest of that animals life. Buy a bloody tamagotchi if you want to be occupied by something needy occasional, or get a house plant!