In my house Animals are family not pets! My daughter who is twelve years old is a huge animal lover as well so your "baby" will get all the attention they'd like Lol! We have volunteered at an animal sanctuary for the last year and love being able to help out! It is so rewarding to be able to make a small difference and feel like this would be another great outlet! I have a 5 month old cavalier king spaniel, cocker spaniel mix who LOVES all dogs and people and would love some fur friends to play with!! Hey you only love once and I'd spend all my time with animals if I could but this is next best thing if you ask me! :)