I've been a mom for over eighteen years and this weekend was the first time I gave into the line, "Everyone has a pet, but me!!!". I couldn't help it. My youngest girls have begged me for a pet since preschool. They would absolutely love a D.O.G., but I just can't go there...yet. (If my dad is reading this and sees my "yet", he'll start sending me dog listings by the end of the day!)
Anyway, when I found this note cleaning out the garage the other night, I felt very small. I mean, look at this, my daughters are resorting to caring for snails they find in the yard.
So...this Saturday I gave into their pleas for a pet and got four...Jasmine, Sparkles, Roxy and Millie.
Meet our new beta fish...
I know you're probably thinking that fish aren't very exciting, but believe me, you would have thought we were welcoming royalty with how thrilled my girls were to bring these little fish home. They prepared spots in their rooms and planned out a feeding schedule and asked all their friends at school which names were best. Now they have finally achieved one of their dreams...being able to raise their hands when the teachers asks "Who has any pets?"
Of course, seeing my girls go wild over fish makes me reconsider, just a little, the whole D.O.G. thing.
Kids and pets...let's talk. Have any of you ever gotten a dog or cat just because your kids begged? I mean that has to be a textbook bad reason to enter the world of pet ownership, right? If you did do such a thing, how did it work out? Any regrets? Tell me, caution me, persuade me, whatever the case may be...
We had a dog before our kids were born, so they have grown up with one. When my younger son was 10 he wanted a hamster so badly! My husband kept saying no. Finally, my son made a power point presentation about why he should have one - and it finally won dad over! We have had a hamster, fish, and toads. Haven't regretted any of them - but glad it's just the dog now!
ReplyDeleteA power point? How cute! It would be hard to say no after that! :)
DeleteTHERE IS A REASON A DOG IS CALLED MAN'S BEST FRIEND! studies show people with dogs get sick less, are happier, lower heart rate and blood pressure plus all the emotional benefits-less anxious, feel safer, lifts our moods, lowers stress levels-gives us consistency in our routines. Plus you can toss out the broom and vacuum as there won't be any crumbs left on the floor. My goal is to be as good of a person as my dog alerady thinks I am...... Dad
ReplyDeleteI know...I wish I could get on board... :)
DeleteI think once you had a cute dog that would great you with a happy face and tail everytime you walked in the door you would soon say gee- look what I have been missing. Snuggle on the couch when watching TV, keep the bed warm, look at you with thos big brown eyes....
DeleteWe have a dog but my husband and I have decided that we don't want another dog. Maverick is our last. He is an amazing dog but he's really old and takes a lot of work.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter has been begging for a Golden Retriever puppy. It will not happen. Hopefully I can subdue her with a fish when the time comes.
Thanks for sharing.
xoxo
I think that sounds like a good plan, Jennifer! How fun that you have a lot of great memories with Maverick though!
DeleteIf and only if you and husband Want the dog. The promises to feed, etc from children are short lived. I don't care what they say. :).
ReplyDelete-Happy dog owner.. most of the time
Haha, Judy! So true!
DeleteI agree with Judy! :)
ReplyDeleteAunt Kim
P.S. Another thing to consider...the dog will probably live longer than the girls live at home. ;)
DeleteOh shoot! I keep thinking of more.....it's not that I want to talk you out of a dog or ruin it for the girls, because you know I love dogs! I just agree with Judy that you will end up with a lot of the responsibility for the dog.
DeleteI know that's true, Aunt Kim! It's hard to resist the begging, but every time I think of the work of a dog, I can't go through with it. I do know you LOVE dogs, too! :)
DeleteMy family had a lot of animals when I was growing up - and I have very fond memories of a strong bond with all of them.
ReplyDeleteMy children have had - and loved - both goldfish and a beta. We have had a cat and a dog for about a dozen years - and they are family members of nearly equal ranking with the rest of us. I can't imagine life without them -OR how much easier it would be to keep my house clean!!
I always like your stories about your pets, Susan and they make me think pet ownership brings a lot of satisfaction to a lot of lives! Your stories about your cat in particular stick in my mind!
DeleteThat snail care schedule was hilarious!! I can see my niece drawing up a schedule like that for her cat. :)
ReplyDeleteSo funny, Chelsea! Yesterday, I found a little card that had fun facts about each of the fish written on it. :)
DeleteWe have a dog that we love...but who doesn't get enough attention. He's big and hairy and sometimes jumps (although it's really only to love them to death), but my girls do not enjoy that at all. They have been asking for something else for months. I've thought about fish, turtles...I just don't know. I can't see them taking care of it for very long. Now that school has started, perhaps this is something I can put off until next summer?...
ReplyDeleteI think you should put it off as long as possible! :)
DeleteI smiled so big when I saw your new fish! My little ones have been asking me for a dog . . . a cat . . . fish . . . anything . . . for months now. I gently tell them no, as I just don't have the extra time, or ENERGY, to care for any thing else. We're big on taking weekend getaways, which would get at little tricky if we had animals to take care of. So for now . . . I'm veto-ing pets!!!
ReplyDeleteLove reading everyone's thoughts and comments!
Have a great week, Marie!
Suzanne
Haha! Good to know I'm not the only one who feels like they just don't have the energy to care for anything else. I think that's exactly how I feel and why I hesitate at adding anything else to my to-do list!
DeleteMy oldest daughter started bringing spiders home in her milk carton from school because we didn't have a pet. We found a hamster for her shortly thereafter. She still longs for larger things -- like a d.o.g. or a cat or a sheep, etc. We haven't given in to any of these other desires. We keep telling her she may have a larger pet when she's in charge of her own home.
ReplyDeletewww.mommycrusader.com
This is my kind of pet - I'm not a big animal person really :( #sharewithme
ReplyDeleteWe have just recently lost a Budgie and although he may have been small, he was a big presence in our lives. The children were so upset when he died, so we are having a break from pets at the moment. I would like a cat but my husband wants a dog. We have agreed that at some point we will get both - at the same time! We are currently trying to ignore the begging from the children, as we have specified that it will be a couple of years, at least, until we do this.
ReplyDeleteOh I'm sorry that you recently lost special pet! I know they can be a big part of the family!
DeleteFirst of all... I am so loving the pet snail schedule, hilarious!!
ReplyDeleteSecondly, well done for putting this off for so long, I caved when my daughters were 7 and we came home with a feral, rescue kitten.
Compared to kids, pet ownership is a complete doddle. And now that our daughters have both left for uni, the cat has evolved into the third child we never had. She is completely adorable and I'm so happy that she lives with us.
Good luck whatever the decision x
I like the stories about your cat! I can tell she is a much loved member of the family!!
DeleteI've always held off on pets, because I didn't want the hassle. But when we moved to the country I caved. Now we've got two cats, and I have to admit it: I really like them.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the cats are working out well. It's nice to know you caved and don't regret it! :)
DeleteI've always held off on pets, because I didn't want the hassle. But when we moved to the country I caved. Now we've got two cats, and I have to admit it: I really like them.
ReplyDeleteAsh the Dog says - Well, we do make the perfect pets but we are a lot of work. Luckily I have Mum, Dad, my lil' dude Lucas and Nanny and Dad Dah to help look after me. I'll be your girls surrogate doggie if they want - anything to help members of the GL Gang!!!! Sending Paw-5's to you all xx #sharewithme
ReplyDeleteThanks! You sound like a lucky with dog with a great family! :)
DeleteWe LOVE pets in our house. We have Ash and three fish; Darth Vadar, Ben 10 and Steven (Lucas chose the names!!) They're a huge responsibility and fish are easier to look after - they don't want to go out for a walk when it's raining!! Hope your girls enjoy :) #sharewithme
ReplyDeleteI am a beta fish girl! I've had many over the years and they always live a long long time. I love the snail note you found, SO cute. And yay! You have pets! lol ;]
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking this post to the SHINE blog hop!
Thanks, I'm glad you've enjoyed beta fish. Hopefully, ours will live for awhile! :)
DeleteThe snail care schedule is so very adorable. Congrats on your new fishy friends! We had our dogs before we had the kids, and some days I'm sooo tired of dealing with dog stuff on top of kid stuff. My kids are all three and under however, so maybe your older kids would actually be helpful with a dog. Best of luck to you!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm pretty sure taking care of a dog would push me over the edge even with my kids being older. It's so tempting to give in though and see the smiles on their faces getting a dog would bring, but I keep reminding myself of the work that comes after that!
DeleteBrought back memories...how many of these types of things I did with my three kids...helps them learn. Thanks for sharing with the Thursday Blog Hop!
ReplyDeleteWe have never had the problem of our children begging for pets as we have always had dogs and have also had a couple of hamsters, two house rabbits and a few gold fish in the past...In fact it wouldn't surprise me if the children one day said to us ''No more pets please!'.
ReplyDeleteI think that the responsibility of having a pet is good for children, but it is also a lot for parents to take on. At the moment we have five dogs of various ages. We had four and promised ourselves that when the older ones pass on that we would stick with two....But that was until we gave a home to a pretty little street dog we were asked to foster!....I am too soft to be a foster carer for animals!
The note that you found in the garage is lovely and I hope you keep it to show them when they are all grown up. It reminded me of when me and my sister used to collect snails, except we didn't have such a tight schedule for looking after them!
I, myself couldn't imagine living without having a dog as part of the family. They teach us sooo much!
Popped over from the #SHINEbloghop.
Your house sounds like one my girls would like to visit. Lots of pets of all kinds! How wonderful that you foster animals, too!
DeleteLove the fish tanks and name badges so cute. We already had animals growing up fish, dogs, cats, etc... I always wanted that for my kids too and I think as they get older we might have to start thinking about fish as they teach such great lessons of responsibilities as my son is allergic to most other animals. Great idea!!!! Thanks for linking up to Share With Me #sharewithme
ReplyDeleteMy daughter isn't ready for a pet ... yet. I was raised with animals my entire life and I am very happy not having ANY. Not even a fish. But I know the day will come when I cave because I know how much she already loves animals. That day will be when she is capable of caring for the pet she "really" wants.
ReplyDeleteBeta fish can be fun! I had a really fiesty one while in college and whenever I would come in the room, he started swimming around like crazy. I pretend that he was happy to see me, but I think he was just a super aggressive territorial fish... :)
ReplyDeleteI grew up with pets and now my husband and I just got our first dog. My son is a toddler and wasn't able to beg for his first dog, but he sure loves his "Sully" now! The key for us is that we got an older dog - my sister-in-law gave us hers because they were so busy with 3 kids and 3 other dogs. He is well-trained and very easy going... so nice. We had thought about a puppy for a while, but a puppy and young kids in the house just sounds like a circus! (plus I think potty training the toddler will be enough challenge for me - first timer here!)
Amy @ http://www.livinglifetruth.com/
I've heard that getting an older dog is nice because you're out of the super energetic, chewing, accident prone puppy stage. Your new dog sounds great. :) It's nice that your son will have a pet to grow with!
DeleteThat is the cutest thing, they had schedules for their pet snails in the yard! That's hilarious and so sweet!
ReplyDeleteGreat choices on names! So happy your girls are now pet owners! We have a whole arsenal of pets hanging around here; rabbits, dogs, betas and Koi fish. The betas are by far the easiest to care for!
I love the snails - I had pet worms as a kid, so I can relate. BUT I also had cats and a dog at the time, too. Some of us are just animal people?
ReplyDeleteNow we have 2 cats because I want them, but we have no dog and won't have a dog because the time you can spend away from the house without hiring a dog walker or boarding it is not sufficient for our lifestyle. My parents constantly have to leave our house to go home to take care of their dog, and my kids see that and get why they don't need their own dog. Oh, and the picking up the dog poop? I just can't.
When our daughter was born we already had an older cat that we had for years. He passed on when she turned 5 and from there on the begging was almost relentless. We gave in a year later and never looked back. 'Bubbles' was a huge part of our family. And when she died 13 years later on Christmas (our daughter was home from college and we took her to the vet together) it was devastating. I would say the only negative thing about dogs is they don't live long enough. Seriously, they are perfect creatures. More importantly, they make us better people and I think having a dog gives children a sense of purpose, someone to love unconditionally (let's face it, when their teens that's not happening with their parents), and a true best friend.
ReplyDeleteOur daughter now has a dog of her own: one that we cared for for over a year (long story but you can get an excerpt on my blog in the sidebar 'our puppy story', but have a tissue handy). We miss him a LOT and someday we will get another dog but since we are recently retired and hope to do some traveling now is not the best time.
I think the note you found is precious! Your daughter sounds very responsible and organized, and I think would make a great doggy mommy!
Your children are old enough to be able to take on the responsibility of pet ownership. If you do this, make sure they understand that they will be mainly responsible for feeding and walking THEIR dog. Let them name and pick out him/her. This will give them a greater feeling of ownership.m
DO IT Marie! You won't regret it.
P.S. Thanks for stopping by!
I just noticed I wrote 'their' instead of 'they're'. If you knew me you would know how much that's driving me NUTS!! I'm a bit anal when it comes to stuff like that :/.
DeleteAnyway...I figured as long as I'm coming back to comment I'd supply the link to my puppy post in case you want to take a peak. http://www.househoneys.com/ode-to-puppies/
Oh my gosh I am laughing so hard at the snail list. That is beyond awesome.
ReplyDelete