Why Do People Have Pets?

We have no good animal place and I have tried to make friends just to catch it, and it could have killed for hunger but I was feeding it then and I don't now. I think they now are probably too big but it just cannot lose interest. I also caught a big tomcat checking them out and scared him off, don't know if he was more than curious or not. I did want a rooster with them but it may be just as well not to have one. The one across the road from me crows pretty often and odd hours, if we had two it may make neighbors complain. I may buy a trap to catch it and take it to another shelter in another town.

They are really fun and I am working on making their bigger lot safe. They are scared to death of worms and slugs! lol

Wanted to tell you about my chickens and couldn't remember where we talked last but since I had a dog named Baby too, decided to stop here. Goit 4 sex-linked chicks about a month ago and believe it or not a cat killed one of them, even in a pen and it was a kitten that killed it and tried for the others but I heard their screams and they were hid tight as they could get. I put them in a smaller pen and then lock them in their coupe at night but the kitten is still around and is not giving up. I don't know what to do about it. It's wild. But the three left are hens and getting pretty big and I hope to free range them in a few weeks before winter. I have started giving them veggies and they are crazy about them. They are Rhode Island Reds. Guess I will forget about a rooster. I love them!

What a beautiful hub, I love my dog as well. They love unconditionally and are so loving and forgiving. Beautiful photos and this is vote up and shared.

Hi mary,Sooooo great lens and story, I have an overweight dogo. She's a hunting dog and runs around nonstop in our sizable back yard. Even though , she is still very fat.

I'm not used to having pets, but I do have a dog now, so I can wholeheartedly agree with most of the reasons. Your Baby is so cute. I Mine also keeps me from getting selfish, since he wants all the attention and money spent on him!

Oh my, if she's getting that kind of love, she will definitely live till at least 17! LOL; and thank you for the luck, Mary!

PS: Have fun with Baby for the next decade! :D

Like you, I have always had a dog in the house. I grew up with dogs and still live with them! You are absolutely right, dogs bring out so much from other people, but you are definitely correct that some people simply should not have pets. Pets and animals, especially dogs, are caring and loving creatures and deserved to be treated as such. I follow this one saying: "Treat a dog like a human, they live like a human!" All the dogs in my family have lived beyond 16 years because they feed off the love and attention you give them. My dog, Buffy, before she died in 2004, almost lived until she was 18 because we loved her and we showed that love. My two dogs now are definitely going to live that long :)

Great hub, Mary! Voted up and pinned!

Hi mary, I loved this! and the photos really made me smile! how cute! I have always had dogs, I haven't got one at the moment but really miss it, the company, the walks and just about everything else, theres nothing nicer than sitting in the evening watching tv with a dog on my lap, so comforting, nell

Mary,

What an awesome list! Growing up in an apartment in Chicago we were not allowed to have animals but I talked my mom into letting me get a newt once. She escaped and we endeed up finding her dead in my mom's shoe. That was the last time I was able to have a pet until I grew up...now I always have a dog. Like Baby...they do way more for us than we ever do for them.

Love your hub!

Thomas

Now this is a winning hub....loved all the photos and stories about Baby...especially the one in the raft. We have two dogs....both retrievers and they are big dogs so we do not have the opportunity to let them sit on our rafts. Like you I have had a pet almost my entire life....from Stonewall to Jeannie to Penny to Xerox to out current Goldie and Dixie...they each have given so much to me and my families lives....voted up and awesome.

Mary -

I understand your words in my hub a little clearer now! You are definitely one with love in your heart for your "family". And, you're a true country girl! I remember going down and feeding the cows and pigs when I stayed with my grandparents. 6 a.m., January, -14 degrees, and couldn't wait to get in the barn from the house because the between wind would cut you to pieces! Never milked a cow though as theirs were for selling and eating only. By the way, say "Hello" to Baby for me!

I love this hub for so many reasons. First, the pics are fabulous; you really captured Baby's spirit. Second, the section "Why Do We Need And Want To Have Pets?" was exactly what I was looking for when I suggested today's theme (Animals in Your Lives): with warmth and humor you so beautifully described the wonderful effects animals can have on our lives. There are more reasons, but I'd have to write an essay to explain them all. Up and awesome!

Hi Mary, Baby is enjoyable, as usual. And she reminds me of Misty when she was younger too. Yes, pets keep us unselfish....they remind us of everything all the time! And you're right...I think they know how to tell the time as well. They know when to go out and play, etc, whenever the need comes!! Thanks for sharing, I've voted this up, etc!!

This is great! I too hated slopping the pigs....ssssooo stubborn. Cute when they were little but oh boy was I glad when my dad, the ultimate hobby farmer got that one out of his system. My horse was Jerry and he knew stuff about me even I didn't know. My two guys were of great comfort to my husband when he was bedridden and great company for him when he was not. This past year and a half they have often been the only reason I have bothered to get out of bed in the morning. I am grateful for both of them and very much enjoyed reading your hub - a kindred spirit.

One reason could be they really like animals, the other reason is they feel lonely and having a pet makes them feel better.

nice hub, and totally great pictures!!!

I can't believe I missed reading this hub! I grew up with pets and so did my family. I even have a picture of Jiggs hanging in our home...and he was a family pet of my mother's when she was growing up. I've written many hubs about our pets (including Jiggs) and loved this one about your pet experiences including the photos of your sweet Baby. Up and beautiful votes and will share. Our pets give us such unconditional love!

Hi mary,

I think you loves to pets very much. Beautiful pic of baby. I liked it

What a cute hub! I can see why you love your dog. : ) I have only had one or two in my day as an adult, but always had to give them away. : ( One was a gift for a friend), the other, my ex's mother-in-law made us give up when we lived with her. I hope to someday own another dog. I now have cats, having grown up with them. We only had one pet dog named Spicey. He was a shared pet by the family. (a cocker spaniel). Loved the video and your photos too! Voted up for sure!!

What a sweet hub. I think you are right that simply caring for a pet is rewarding, and the love they give back is such a gift. And there is something about having a pet as a child - it is a sort of friendship that can't be duplicated and I think it really does build character.

You are so furtunate to have had such a variety of pets. I always wanted a cow as a little girl. I never did get one. And I absolutely love goats! They have such personality. Good for you for not getting a pig. They can be quite a pain. One of the vets I used to work for would only see them if absolutely necessary.

I have always had at least one cat. And now I also have two rats. They are so loveable. Unfortunately I am very allergic to them so they will be the one and only pait i get to have :(

Sorry it took me so long to get around to reading this! :)

Baby is such a cutie!

Hi Mary

Growing up we had a black and tan hound named Beauregard. People were scared of his size and bark but he was a gentle dog. My dad gave him away when we moved into an apartment. Years later, I found out he was killed by a car.

I have never had a pet as an adult. I love dogs but because of my lifestyle, it would be selfish for me to have a pet.

Baby looks so adorable in her pink sweater. :)

Time to go out and enjoy the sunshine.

Take care my friend. :)

Hi Mary, I'm short of Words; many have said what I wanted to say, but you as always show dedication into your hubs. Being a mom and having Baby makes you a different soul with an edge, does it make sense? Thanks for writing such a heartfelt article. Great to see you getting up there.

LORD

This is beautiful! Thanks for sharing your life with Baby - she is a very lucky doggy! :)

Pets are great companions and do make life interesting. How wonderful it was that, as an animal lover, you married a vet? Your dog is such a sweet little pet and I can see why you love him so much. Thanks for sharing.

Mary this is one wonderful hub and I can see you really have a soft corner for pets. Your Baby is so cute!

Reading this hub reminds me of my childhood when we had a dog, a few pigeons, some hens and ducks as well. It was great being with them. Today, I have a dog, a pair of love birds and a few fishes.

Great read.

Voted up all the way.

Hi Mary,

I didn't think adding my experience with a trained helper dog would add to your hub. Lets just say for the sake of the animal I will never do it again. No one told me the dog they delivered had special training not normally given to helper dogs. She paid the ultimate price for her extra training.

Hi Mary. I was raised on a farm. We had all kinds of animals, and they were all like family. They had names and they knew their names. All were respectable and interacted with us. What a wonderful experience!

A hub dear to my heart. Ann Voted across.

Although I did not grow up on a farm, I have always loved animals. All animals but dogs are my favorite. I have three canine children! It does not matter if I leave the house for five minutes or five hours, I still get the same....we're so glad to see you greeting. No human has ever been that happy to see me. Contrary to what some believe, dogs feel deeply. I had a rough childhood and my only comfort was my dog. It is interesting that from what I have learned, children that have a rough time in childhood usually end up either great defenders and protectors of animals or, unfortunately, the opposite where they enjoy causing harm. "All creatures under God"

We also had a mini Schnazer for 13 years. Her name was Pepper.

How lucky all your pets have been, mary, to have you as their loving mommy. We have something in common, m'dear - as a child you had a dog, a mutt named Chubby. Mine was a mutt named Pudgy.

I can answer a question you posed in your hub about pigs. You said, "If they are so smart, why do they roll in the mud?" Simple. They do not have sweat glands so rolling in the mud cools them off. (See my hub "Pig Facts and Pig Trivia.") Thanks for this realistic and fun-to-read hub.

Loved your topic. My mother had a saying, it translated to "cats, dogs, kids, and men all loved her." I know this sounds strange the pets I remember best at mothers were tame rats. My love for animals came from my father.

From my first year as as teen I worked with my fathers horses. In later years there was always a dog and chickens to kill the rattle snakes which ventured into the acre of land we owned.

Although there have been pets in the house in the past two years there has to be another adult to take care of their needs. Their care when I am alone is beyond me now.

I do understand the feeling down and an animal picking up on it. The last cat who lived here would be on my lap when she wouldn't go near anyone else. This was always at times when things were rough and I was feeling down.

A delightful topic covered so well. We love our pets for so many reasons and I believe companionship is on the top of the list even if we don't realize it. Definitely childless couples substitute pets, but what about us old guys with grown children? Pets keep the house from being too quiet :) I love that my dog knows when I'm down and will come and sit on my lap or lick my face. The bird, well there are times I could live without his chirping but I think I'd miss it.

You have had some great experiences. I grew up in the city so never had the opportunities you did except for always having a dog, though we did have some chickens once until the neighbors complained.

So sorry about your husband. What a great relationship you must've had! Love your pictures of Baby. The video is priceless, isn't it great how they play?

Voted up, interesting and beautiful.

Mary, this is a very interesting hub. I have two younger sisters who have pets. One has cats and a dog, and the other has a bunch of cats. I think a lot of people have pets because they love them, and in many instances when people don't have any children, the pets take the place of children. I would like to have a cat or dog, but I just don't have the right place to keep one and give it the best care. Voted up and sharing.

I have always loved pets. I'm always so glad people don't drop dogs or cats here I know I would keep them. I also love chickens. We use to have 3 chickens and when we would let them wonder around the yard they would always want to be wherever we were. Sad about your husband to young to pass away. Great hub...

With your love for pets it sounds like you married he perfect man. I love pets also. I enjoyed you hub very much.

Very good hub. I also had a pet chicken and named it. Then one day we where having chicken for dinner, my bother said this is (can't remember my pets name)I through a fit until my Mum convinced me it wasn't.

We also had Susie our ret/lab.

Voted up and beautiful, Joyce.

Oh Mary, I really enjoyed this hub. Like you I am a big animal lover and totally understand how our animals keep us in line....for we cannot afford to care for them and do anything else!! It is so worth it. Fun reading.

What a beautiful hub! I enjoyed reading about all of the pets you had while you were growing up. The image of you pulling a chicken in a wagon made me giggle :)

Baby sounds like she is very spoiled, but clearly brings you so much joy. Voted up & beautiful!