Are your animals your "babies" or your "pets"?

[GEM]

Just wondering. We have two dogs that we love, but they are definately our pets - not our babies. We don't call them our babies and we don't refer to ourselves as their Mommy and Daddy. They are mostly outside dogs. (As I mentioned on another thread, I don't really like indoor pets at all, other than fish. Fish are fine.) They have a doggie door into the garage and they go in there to get out of the rain or cold and they have nice fluffy beds in there to sleep on. The rest of the time they are outside. They aren't allowed in the house. We spend time outside playing with them most days. Paul especially loves to throw the ball for them. They have a HUGE fenced yard with tons of room to run and play. They don't get Christmas presents or birthday presents and they don't sign our greeting cards! They've never been in our family Christmas photo. When we go on vacation, we either get a pet sitter or they go to a kennel. They don't travel with us. We would never take them to anyone else's house or anything like that.

Please don't get me wrong. I'm not meaning to poke fun at or criticize people that treat their pets more like humans! We have some friends and family members who absolutely treat their pets like children, and that's great! We just don't feel that way ourselves.

So, are the animals in your life pets or people?

 

[Gupsmom]

We are strongly considering getting a puppy. I believe that a pet is a member of the family...but my dog will never be on the same level as my children. I can love my dog and I may playful call it my baby but I am not it's Mommy and it is not my child. I'd take a family photo with our dog....but I wouldn't feel like I had to have the dog in every family photo.


Jess

 

[Aidensmom]

I don't consider my pets the same level as my child, but they are definately my babies.

What I mean by this is that while if there was a problem between my son and my cat or dog, my son would definately win, but other than that, by dog and cat are both members of my family, not just pets.

 

[scoutsmom99]

Scout is my baby boy, but if I had children that would probably be different. Scout is treated like a spoiled baby compared to the other dogs that have been in my life.

Similar to your dogs our dogs have a space outside that was thier home and they came in if the weather was too cold too hot, etc. And if they came in they were only allowed to be in the basement period!!

LOL my mom has gone soft in her old years. Scout spent his first year with us in the house and then moved outside with our other two dogs, but one passed on and then we just had Rocket and Scout. Rocket was getting older and since about 2002 Scout and Rocket only spent days outside and were inside sleeping with us at night. Since Rocket passed last July (2004) Scout only goes out during the day if my brothers dog Zeus comes over for doggy day care.

I do celebrate his birthday (Jan 15), he gets Christmas presents (He loves unwrapping presents!), vacation souviners, and all sorts of other assorted impulse buys. Last year for his birthday the other dogs in our family came to celebrate including my friend jb (jbdreamer here on the dis boards) and I had dinner(hamburgers for the dogs), cake (frosty paws), and presents for my baby...I even had party bags for the other party goers. Not to be out done of course my brother had a birthday party for Zeus a month later (he and his wife do not have children).

If I go on vacation he will just stay with my brother or with my parents, but I have looked at a new pet lodge in the area if there was to be some type of family vacation (we haven't had a family vaction since 1989).

I do realize that I go overboard, but I love my little guy to death and I would do anything for him. He is waiting for my when I come home from work, he sleeps in my bed with me at night, he is a great listener, he is fun to wrestle and play with, he is just sooo loveable

 

[disykat]

Both. I agree with Gupsmom that pets are part of the family - but not on the same level as a child. I have to admit I definately baby my dog. We babytalk to her - something we didn't do with our kids. We refer to ourselves as "mommy and daddy" to her - something that sounds so silly when we hear others do it, but seems natural to do ourselves. Our kids, we treat like people, our dog, we treat like a spoiled pet.

We have had the dog in one formal photo and also in several casual photos we've sent with Christmas cards. As the boys get older they don't really like to have their picture taken, but will willingly pose with the dog. We take her on weekends to the beach or camping, but not on longer family vacations. She travels with us to visit our parents (they'd kill us if we didn't bring her!), but we certainly don't take her everywhere.

Our dog has been such a wonderful addition to our family. She really unifies us because even if we aren't getting along (especially the kids), we're all united in our love of the little furball.

 

[GEM]

Last year for his birthday the other dogs in our family came to celebrate including my friend jb (jbdreamer here on the dis boards) and I had dinner(hamburgers for the dogs), cake (frosty paws), and presents for my baby...I even had party bags for the other party goers.

Aw, that sounds like fun! I'm sure that Freckles and Frosty would have loved to attend.

Anyway, I guess what I was saying was that we do consider them part of the family, but we don't treat them like people or think of them as being our "babies".

 

[PixieDust32]

I don't consider my pets the same level as my child, but they are definately my babies.

We refer to ourselves as "mommy and daddy" and they're spoiled pets!

 

[sissybells]

My baby is our baby. Don't take this the wrong way, but there is no way at all that I would let him live outside. He has his own room and 3 other beds throughout the house so he can sleep where he wants just not on our bed. Maybe the main reason that he is so spoiled is that we don't have children. But even if we were lucky enough to have a child, he would not be treated any different being as he has been part of the family from the get go. And I don't mean that he would be more important that a child but I believe that when you get a pet, especially when you get it as a puppy that you treat the pet with the same respect you would if you were being taken care of by someone. Not being left outside. I don't say many things on this board, but when it comes to animals I really belive that if you get one and it has to live outside then you shouldn't even consider getting one. I don't care if I get flamed. I just love my baby to much to put him outside.

 

[chell]

My animals are not treated like humans but they are my babies. Auggie is so protective of me and can pick up on when even the slightest thing is wrong with me. If I am sick she stays by my side, same if I am upset. She is so very special to me. The others are special as well but there is a an extra special bond there with Auggie. Of course all my babies are spoiled rotten.

Since I don't have children of my own it is much easier for my pets to be my babies and get to be the center of my attention when I'm home.

 

[minkydog]

We have a dog, several gerbils and two fish. I take them to the vet when they're sick(even the gerbils) but i don't want them in my bed. I don't want them eating at the table. I don't give them gifts--they're lucky they get fed every day. I love them dearly but they're pets. There was a time before we had children that we had a dog we made into our 'baby". I can totally see people doing that. But now I have enough real babies, I need the dog to just be the dog.

 

[chyam]

I guess it depends on whether you have "babies or children" since I don't my pets are my babies and I treat them as such, they get gifts they are taken care of and loved. I would never consider getting an animal and leaving it in a backyard or a basement. I believe that when you take on that responsibility (since it is a choice) then you should provide that creature with love,warmth,food and shelter, and all creatures need companionship. So perhaps I am a little overboard with how I feel but I love my animals. They do get gifts at Christmas (even if it is just a new collar or toy) They are talked to and they are given baths every month. Some dogs perfer to spend their days outside but I am sure they would much rather be curled up by their owners feet. I think getting an animal (which is your choice) and then just throwing it food and water everyday is a form of abuse, animals need interaction not just in passing.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

The dogs are our babies - the birds more like our pets. Since DW MeanLaureen is unable to have children, I guess we put more time into the dogs and spoiling them than we would if we had kids. And given that Reilly may have saved her life last year, I think he deserves every ounce of spoiling.

 

[kaylajr]

And given that Reilly may have saved her life last year, I think he deserves every ounce of spoiling.

Yes he does give him a treat for me too


As for our two dogs they are definatly our babies
while not on the same level as our children of course
but they are spoiled rotten and very important members of the family

My DDs are our girls
and the labs are our boys

 

[chrissyk]

The 2 cats are our babies We don't have 2-legged children yet, and we've had the cats since we were right out of college. We consider them our dry run at parenting They have always slept in our bed with us, they come on vacation with us (except to Disney), and they are definite family members.

 

[Marseeya]

The dog and cat we have right now are our pets. I'm fond of the cat, but I'm just not a cat person. The dog... well, she's a pretty hard dog to love! I've had dogs in the past that were my "babies," but not this one. I'm very fond of her, but not as much as I could be. I've always been a dog person, so it bothers me that I never really bonded to her.

My bird is pretty close to being my baby. I adore that bird!

 

[Kitty 34]

I don't consider my pets the same level as my child, but they are definately my babies.

What I mean by this is that while if there was a problem between my son and my cat or dog, my son would definately win, but other than that, by dog and cat are both members of my family, not just pets.

ITA

 

[TinkerBess_SnowTori]

If you had asked me this question before I had children - I might have said our cats were our babies...

But then came 2 girls in 2 years and all bets were off... I still loved the cats, talked to them, brushed them, gave them everything they needed but they did start to take the back burner and I did feel bad about that...but my real babies had to come first.

Interesting though ... now that the girls are older 5&6 the cats are coming to the forefront again through the girls ... the girls cuddle them, squeeze them, pet them, talk baby talk to them, want me to buy Christmas presents and special treats .... at first when the girls were very young the cats resisted but now revel in the attention.

 

[airhead]

no doubt about it...

 

[GEM]

I don't say many things on this board, but when it comes to animals I really belive that if you get one and it has to live outside then you shouldn't even consider getting one. I don't care if I get flamed. I just love my baby to much to put him outside.

No flames, but I totally disagree. I think animals belong outside and people belong inside. That's what works best for our family. I have no problem with anyone else keeping critter buddies inside. I just don't like inside pets myself. I don't want them in my house, and I really don't even like going to visit people that have them in theirs.

That said, our two dogs (who are huge, by the way) are very happy outside. They have nice, comfy, fluffy, warm beds in the garage. They have a huge yard to run in and lots of toys to play with. They get lots of playtime and company. They are well groomed and get regular medical care. (Heck, we even give one arthritis medicine every morning!) We just don't bring them in the house, call them our babies, buy them Christmas gifts, etc. I really think it's silly to say they're abused or neglected. They aren't. We definately are NOT just leaving them all alone in the backyard and throwing them food and water every day.

I only asked the question because I think other people's opinions on this are interesting. I'm certainly not going to criticize anyone who says their pets are furry little children! We have lots of wonderful friends and family that feel that way. That's just not how we feel. We love our dogs, but they are definately dogs - not kids, babies, etc. And, for the record, this was true even before our son was born.

 

[jx3smom]

My pets are part of my family. They are never on the same level as my boys but are spoiled rotten and we are "Mommy and Daddy". The 2 kittens I have now will always be inside. In Dec. they will go and see Santa Paws at the Humane Society as I've done with some of my other cats for many years now. Even my terripins have Christmas stockings.