Deb, I completely agree! I am going to go a little further and say that other circumstances need to be considered. My friend spent years clearing up toilet messes of a rescue cat she had adopted. That included inside her daughter's school shoe on one occasion. This friend happens to be an animal communicator and adores animals, so she tried to work with it for a long time. She was advised by the cat centre that if a cat develops the habit of toileting inside, you will never get that out of them. Eventually, when the cat pooed in the kitchen sink, she realised she needed to let the cat go for her own mental health too. It was sad but it was the right thing.

Dogs, however, can learn new tricks at any age, so that is no excuse for a dog.