Do you consider your pet(s) as family members???

**salvasol** · **11-25-08, 02:50 PM**

I'm wondering how many of you consider your loyalty pets to be part of the family???

I'm one of them, they're always with you, for some people they're the only company they have; sometimes they take care of their owners needs (like for the blinds, people with cancer, epillepsy, etc.), you have fun, they protect you, your house and your family.

My house is a zoo: Dogs, fish, turtle, hampsters ...and I'm glad to have more than one pet, because saddly last night after almost 13 years of living with me, my German Shepard/Rotweiller is gone. He was old, with arthritis (somedays he will barely stand up because his legs couldn't support his weight 105+lbs) ...I will miss him, but I will keep all good memories of the fun we had .....

**tonyvdb** · **11-25-08, 03:34 PM**

Its always hard to let a loved one go even if its a pet. Dog's, Cats and even Parrots can live long enough to really develop a close friendship with them just as you would with your children.
Do you think you will get another dog similar to the one you had?

**steverc** · **11-25-08, 03:37 PM**

David:

I’m sorry you lost a friend. It’s been fifteen years since I lost my Terrier/Poodle/whatever. I still miss him. At the end he was blind, deaf, and very arthritic but he never stopped doing his best to have fun. He was very rough on furniture because he thought he could fly, sometimes he very nearly could. Yeah, he was part of the family.

Steve

**salvasol** · **11-25-08, 03:59 PM**

Thank you for your responses ...

Tony: I don't know if I will be able to find a similar dog (his body was like a rotweiller, no tail, strong, etc., but the color, ears, sking was like most German Sheppard (black and tan) ...it was funny when he was happy because he moved all his behind

), and for the time being I have two more dogs (females)...they're mixed breeds too, one is German Sheppard (same color as Mack (it was his name), but is smaller and with a long tail) ....

Steve: Mine was funny too, I remember one day my neighbor asked me why he jumped that way (like a rabbit, using the four legs as springs) ...he said that it was the first time he saw something like that ...

**Prof.** · **11-25-08, 05:22 PM**

Sorry to hear of your loss David..
Our pets are just like family and you do feel an emptiness when they've gone..
Sometimes it can be a blessing in disguise, if the animal is old and suffering..

I'm a dog carer for people who go on holidays and they leave their dog with me while they're away..
Sometimes I have dogs who are in pain and distress (because of their age) but the owners still hang on to them..
I do understand this but the dog is suffering because the owners just won't let go..

I hope you will eventually find another dog to replace your friend..

**ludwignew** · **11-25-08, 05:24 PM**

Well, I've never had a pet before. The closest to a pet would be my girlfriend's dog. I'm in charge of feeding him and brushing him and stuff like that. So we could say that the pet is a family member!

**Sonnie** · **11-25-08, 05:32 PM**

Sorry for your loss David... I can certainly sympathize with you. We had to put our poodle to sleep after 15 years and it was very difficult for us. He was definitely like a child to us. When you live several years with a pet, no doubt they become like family.

**salvasol** · **11-25-08, 06:55 PM**

Thank to all for your repplies ...

**tenzip** · **11-26-08, 12:36 AM**

Sorry about your loss. They live in your house, you take care of them, in their way they take care of you, and they are family. Just furry.

**Fincave** · **11-27-08, 05:04 AM**

Sorry for your loss! Pets are definitely family members in my book. We have two staffordshire bull terriers at the moment as well as a cat and they are our children, will do almost anything for them!

**redfury** · **11-28-08, 12:16 AM**

I'm a little on the fence with this. I've got 2 Schnauzers and 3 cats. I lost one cat a few years ago, that cat was "my" cat. I named him Loki because he was a mischief maker when he was a young feline. He got old and lazy and pretty much sat around for the most part, hacking up hair balls every once in a while and jumping on an open lap if there was one. When he was gone, I really didn't yearn to replace him, nor did I morn his loss. I'm not really a pet person at heart. Of course, it doesn't help that the 3 cats I have left are causing me grief insomuch as peeing on my basement floor when they have 3 litter boxes that are scooped daily with different types of litter in them. I want to replace the flooring ( pulled the carpet ) but I don't know what to put down without having them destroy it again/leave permanent smells that can't be removed because it migrated into something porous, etc. I still have them because the rest of the family loves the cats. Fine. The dogs, I really enjoy...probably because they truly love everyone in the family and love to be with us and are generally good pets.

I dunno how I'll react when we lose one of them. Maybe I'll be more emotional about it, or I may still be more calloused to it. Hard to say. I can certainly understand the bond that people form with them though. They are family. You take care of them because you want to, not because you have to ( , sometimes REAL family you take care of because you have to, not because you want to! ).

I do believe in one thing though. Pets are not disposable. They aren't "fashionable". Pets should be brought into a home only after the people responsible for them have accepted and will execute their responsibility to owning a pet. Too many people get an animal "just because _____" fill in the blank.

**E-A-G-L-E-S** · **11-28-08, 11:51 AM**

Sorry for your loss.

Each of the two family dogs I had growing up were very painful to lose.
My current pooch and I have an even tighter bond and this one will be aweful when the time comes in the next few years, I'm not married nor do I have any children yet....so he is my best friend.

The only way that I've ever been able to deal with it(at least the easiest for me) is to get another rescue puppy and start all over.

**tcarcio** · **11-28-08, 01:26 PM**

I am so sorry for your loss and I feel the same as you do about my Lab Brady. He is an adoption dog that I got on superbowl sunday 3 years ago. He was 12 weeks old and being a Pats fan I named him Brady. He is part of our family and would be sorely missed if something happened to him. Our pets are alway's there for us with a tail wag and unconditional love. Hopefully you got plenty of pics and can remember all the fun he brought into your life.

**JTDINVA** · **03-26-09, 04:13 PM**

Absolutely a part of the family. On Monday I had to put down my best bud Sonny. She was a black lab mix. She had been fighting Lymphoma for a couple of years and it was finally to much for her.
Here's to hoping that Pet's find a better place too when they go.

**tcarcio** · **03-26-09, 07:13 PM**

I have a black lab mix also and I treat him like a person instead of a pet. I don't know if that is a good thing or not but I would be very upset if I lost him. Sorry to hear about anyone who loses a dear pet. I sometimes wonder what they would say if they could talk, well I know what mine would say.......LET'S EAT!!!!!!!

**Ray in Kingwood** · **07-17-09, 06:56 PM**

Oh yes, absolutely!

**vivid** · **07-20-09, 08:45 AM**

Pets ARE family members... I'm so sorry for your loss.

**Richard W. Haines** · **08-29-09, 07:30 AM**

I have a small Quaker parrot who is not only a family member but as intelligent as
a 2 year old child. Most parrots (not parakeets) can not only talk but have word
association. Not mere mimickry but understand what specific words mean. As smart
as dogs are, they cannot do that although they have other methods of communication.

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