GTKY pets edition

MelissaMiso

Did you have pets growing up? (what kind/names)

Do you have any now? (what kind/names)

If you don't have any now, will you get them when you have your future little ones?

Thoughts on raising kids with pets:

MelissaMiso

Did you have pets growing up? (what kind/names)
I had a rabbit Lucky, a hampster named Milo, and a mouse named Shookie. I had wanted a dog or a cat as a kid but my folks didn't want to.

Do you have any now? (what kind/names)
We have two rabbits, Sherman and Beatrix, and a dog named Boddington

If you don't have any now, will you get them when you have your future little ones?
I am hoping to get another dog soon

Thoughts on raising kids with pets
I think having pets enriches kid's lives. I also like that there are health benefits of having pets (lower rate of asthma/allergies, helps improve mood) and teaching children to love and care for animals.

hooligans4

We had a zoo in my house growing up. Our first dog was a Shepard mix named fuzzy. We had a rabbit, cats,gerbils, hamsters, parakeets, cockatiels, a pig and iguanas. We didn't have them all at the same time. Usually had 4 or so pets at a time. We had 6 kids living in my house so everyone always wanted their own pet.


Now we have an 8 year old shih-tzu named tinker bell, a 3 year old iguana named Mikey and a crap ton of tropical fish.

The pets started out bring for the kids but they loose interest quickly so now they are ours. The dog is my husbands baby and the iguana is my baby.

I do like having pets but don't like the added responsibility and the hassle when going away. It's easy to get someone to watch the dog but no one wants a 4 foot iguana in their house.

URMySunshine77

Did you have pets growing up? 

We started out with a guinea pig named Squeakers and had various gerbils and mice. We also had cats named Buckwheat and Socks until I started having asthma attacks and we had to give them away. We also had a cockatiel named Chico.

I always wanted a dog but my parents resisted. I was angry about that because having a dog was my dream.

Do you have any now? 

We have a five-year-old border terrier-mix mutt. She is my fur baby.

Thoughts on raising kids with pets:

My parents weren't really strict about us taking care of the pets. A lot of times my sisters and I would give them away if they became a nuisance (e.g., the guinea pig and cockatiel). Looking back, I don't think this is right. 

I think about getting our son his own dog when he gets old enough but I don't think my husband would be on board because he doesn't think our dog can handle another dog in the house. 

MelissaMiso

Oh my goodness, I totally forgot I had 2 parakeets as a kid: Milk and Cookie. Unfortunately Cookie died pretty young so I had to explain to people why I had a sole parakeet named Milk. Milk was bonkers and we were convinced that Milk killed Cookie. That mystery was never solved. (insert suspenseful music here)

tlc35

Did you have pets growing up? (what kind/names)  We had a few dogs growing up (Bear, Goldie, Lucy) and at one point a cat (Shiela)

Do you have any now? (what kind/names)  Nope

If you don't have any now, will you get them when you have your future little ones?  For me personally pets are more effort than they are worth.  I know that is kinda an UO and makes me sound heartless but I have never connected to animals.  H wants a dog or 2 but he already has so much on his plate and I don't want to be in charge of taking care of a pet.

Thoughts on raising kids with pets:  I do see how much DH's nephew loves their dog so I'm not totally against pets maybe when kids get older and can take some responsibility but kids are definitely priority #1 for me.

meredithcarole

I had a cat, Snowball, and a golden retriever, Jesse growing up. I did have 2 cats in college, Dagny and Hank, that I had to give away because DH is allergic to cats. Now I have a golden named India. To me I cannot imagine not having a pet for any great length of time. I think it is good for children to be exposed to animals.

lgsdesigner

1) Did you have pets growing up? (what kind/names)

Yes. I had 5 bunny rabbits and a beagel. The beagel's name was Babe, and she was an absolute sweetheart. The bunnies were: Blacky, Whitey, Thumper, Patches and Clover.

2) Do you have any now? (what kind/names)

No, not at the moment. 

3) If you don't have any now, will you get them when you have your future little ones?

I am considering a baby Dutch bunny for my daughter's birthday, but I am not too sure. We aren't home enough to take care of a pet. But...a cat might be an option since they are more independent.

4) Thoughts on raising kids with pets:

I think it's great! I loved having pets as a child, and look forward to getting pets for my kids, too. It teaches them basic learning tools: cleaning, caring, feeding, nuturing. It also teaches them kindness and to be gentle and calm to other creatures.

bumpuser10258960

Did you have pets growing up? (what kind/names)  1 Cat growing up: Mitchy. She lived to be 23 years old!

Do you have any now? (what kind/names) 1 Black Cat - Balu

If you don't have any now, will you get them when you have your future little ones? DH has been dying for a puppy, but we travel too much right now for that. Maybe when we have kid(s) and settle down a bit more, we'll get a dog. Most likely a lab or lab mix. 

Thoughts on raising kids with pets: I think it's ok as long as the animals are trained (i.e. not to go on the couch, bed or in the kids room) I think the hair can be bad and we'll probably wait until future kid(s) are a bit older before getting an animal for them. 

Davie813

I had pretty much everything as a kid: cats, dogs, guinea pigs, pet rats, fish, a chameleon, a garter snake...plus we lived in the country and I used to catch pigeons and things like frogs and salamanders to keep as "pets."

Now we have one cat.

I do obviously like animals, but right now DH and I are agreed that the cat will not be replaced when he goes unless DD really, really, really wants a pet.  And still preferably not a cat or dog.  Something in a cage.  We just don't have the time to care for (and clean up after!) animals at this point...

MelissaMiso

@lgsdesigner My childhood bunny was a dutch

Austrogermokee

Did you have pets growing up? (what kind/names)
We had a dog named Bo when I was little, he was a boxer and he once rescued me from a funnel web spider. Later on we had parakeets named Sydney and Aussie, a cat named Smokey and a mutt named Tonto. Oh, and my sister had fish who jumped out of their tank in some kind of weird pescetarian Jonestown.

Do you have any now? (what kind/names)
No. I'm weird in that as an adult, I don't like animals very much. I'm allergic to cats and dogs are just way too needy.

If you don't have any now, will you get them when you have your future little ones?
Probably not - DH has allergies, and I don't want the hassle.

Thoughts on raising kids with pets
It can be a good thing, to teach empathy and caring for others. But I don't think it's necessary, and I think far too often kids get away with begging for a pet then dumping the responsibility back on the parents.

MelissaMiso

@Austrogermokee Pescaterian Jonestown. That's brilliant!

Austrogermokee

It was so disturbing, we came back from vacation to find them all over the floor. Sydney the parakeet committed suicide too - escaped from her cage and trapped herself behind a mirror. I mean, I know my family wasn't ponies and rainbows, but jeez.

KirstenAlecia

I had all kinds of pets growing up. Cats, Dogs, Bunnies, Snakes, hamsters and fish. 

I loved them. 

Right now I have 7 animals. Yup 7. Im THAT crazy person. 

5 cats 2 dogs.(Lil Miss, Peanut, Twinkie, Miley, Chunk, Boots & Noobie) Id have more if we had more land and space. I could live in a zoo or on a farm. lol. I like animals better than people quite honestly. 

I think pets and kids go together hand in hand. I could not have imagined my childhood without them. One of my cats….my favorite one, my baby, is a 23 lb cat who LOOOOOOOVES kids. We are talking toddlers….loves them. While most cats are running from them, my cat loves little ones. He Walks around looking after them, letting them pet and pull on him, hug him….you name it he is tolerant of it.