I never had a pet of my own. My dad grew up with a little sister who had a veritable zoo—everything from dogs to fish to birds to sheep. Animals were strictly not tolerated in my house, so I guess I never really saw myself as having a menagerie of critters to look after. (Other than my own children that is.) That image was further enhanced when John and I took an architecture class field trip to Seattle and stayed with friends there. When I woke up the next morning, I thought I’d caught some noxious cold because I felt absolutely terrible. If we hadn’t been saving for months to go, I might have opted to stay behind. The funny thing was, as soon as we had been out of the house for about an hour, I felt fine again. Come to find out, I am horrifically allergic to cats, and our hosts had two who apparently used our bed during the daytime.
Every child seems to have at least some period of time where they dream of a puppy or kitty to love and cuddle to their heart’s content. Mine were no exception, but I could readily justify not owning a pet because I had so many kids to housebreak and doing the same with an animal was out of the question. Then came that fateful day in third grade where the crayfish my middle son’s class had been studying were allowed to go home with class members. Guess who accidentally-forgot-on-purpose to send that jar with her son to school? Yep. Thought I was off the hook. Turns out I was wrong. All he wanted for his birthday that year was a crayfish. They don’t sell crayfish in your average pet store because if they did, no one in their right mind would buy one. It took some negotiation on both our parts to settle on a suitable pet. Wil the Hermit Crab joined our family five years ago. He’s had a few other friends share his tank over the years, but he’s outlived them all. Mostly you can find him curled up in a corner, coming out at odd hours to take a saltwater bath or get a drink.
“If Mom gave in once, maybe she’ll do it again” must have been the whispers behind closed doors because the next four birthdays would add considerably to our petting zoo. Well, the hermit crab hadn’t been too bad, so I figured if it could live in a tank and not have fur, AND if they could take care of it on their own, then perhaps the lessons in responsibility would be worth the dresser space. My oldest son added Emerald and Jade the firebelly toads as his roommates, later passing them on to his youngest brother (whose hermit crabs were among the unlucky ones that are now buried in our tomato patch). He is now ready to pass them on to another owner, and I will be happy to hold a cease-and-desist on my weekly trips to Petco for crickets.
When my oldest daughter turned seven, she wanted a pony. Or a dog. I talked her into a parakeet (remember the cage and fur rule). Lucky has by far been the most loveable, entertaining, and universally appreciated pet of the bunch. She is well trained to hop from her perch to the open cage door to my little girl’s shoulder whenever the invitation is extended. She chirps incessantly when music played or her owner is in the room. Sometimes we have to throw a towel over her to shut her up, but on the whole, this now four-year-old albino bird is quite loved.
My youngest daughter had the difficult task of finding a pet that a 5-year-old could take care of that didn’t duplicate a sibling’s and that fit all of mom’s requirements. Beta fish are pretty easy, but their life span doesn’t compare to some of our other charges. I think the one in her night light tank is #4, and I’m not sure she even bothered to name this one something more creative than “fishy.” Rainbow, Scarlet, and Lavender have all had their respective funerals surrounding a white porcelain bowl.
All in all, having pets really hasn’t been as troublesome as I had imagined. Maybe by allowing my children to have a little responsibility while they’re young will do one of two valuable things: either they will get the need for a pet out of their system or they will have a lifelong love of animals that only caring for one of their own will foster. This has been brought home to me as I’ve watched my children greeted by the friendliest cat in the neighborhood on their way to the bus stop every morning. Leo will lie down in the middle of the sidewalk waiting for a passerby to give his tummy a scratch. They’re always tickled to stop and play with this gentle tabby and are disappointed on the times when he doesn’t show up.
I have a confession to make. I think having a houseful of pets has softened me up too. You can only resist a friendly furball who follows you halfway home nearly every morning for so long. Allergies aside, even I succumb to his pleading look and pet my first feline friend when he trots out to greet me.
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