Originally Posted by WarChild

You know what you might consider doing? I assume your son is telling you that he will indeed take care of the dog and you don't have to worry.

Maybe suggest that he volunteer one day a week on the weekend or after school at the local SPCA shelter. He'll come in contact with lots of different kinds of dogs there, plus he'll really get an idea of what it's like to take care of and clean up after a dog. If he makes it through a month and is still enthusiastic then let him get a dog. Maybe you could consider adopting a dog from the shelter.

A child of that age will be fine with an adult dog, most likely. You want to be careful with younger children though because shelter dogs can be less stable and they won't have the same bond as they will with a puppy. But again, at 12 or 13 and when talking about small or medium breeds, that won't be a problem.

One thing is really consider getting pet insurance. It's about $30 a month and well worth it.