Do people who do not have children become more attached to thier pets??

Marie5656 · Post by **Marie5656** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 2:32 pm

Not sure why I thought of this. But, do you think people who have not had children become more attached to thier pets than those with children? You know..seeing them as the kids they never had?

Or does it not make a difference in how we feel about our animals? I have not had many pets in my adult life, but I know that I have gotten pretty attached to Trixie, and do fuss over her alot. And I have only posted a fraction of the pictures I have taken of her.

Is this totally nuts, or what??

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 2:52 pm

Animals can be wonderful companions and service friends, but some people do go overboard. I worked for a woman who, when she was divorced, sued the husband for custody of the dog.

The judge finally ordered that she could have the dog every other week, and, for years, they would meet in a parking lot somewhere and hand over the leash..not speaking to one another.

Go figure!

cinderella76 · Post by **cinderella76** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 2:53 pm

I'm sure it's different for different people, but my feelings for my pets have nothing to do with not having/having children. I'm 29, and expecting my first human baby in December. I have always considered my dogs to be my furkids and I take that very seriously. I have been very offended by people who have said to me "Oh, your pregnant, you'll be putting those dogs out!" Well, that'll be a cold day in hell, lol! My dogs have never be "replacements" for children. I love them the way I do because of how wonderful they are how much joy they bring to my life. So no, having children won't change how I feel about my dogs at all.

Marie5656 · Post by **Marie5656** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 4:49 pm

We call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words.

Anna Sewell (1820 - 1878), Black Beauty, 1877

It's funny how dogs and cats know the inside of folks better than other folks do, isn't it?

Eleanor H. Porter (1868 - 1920), Pollyanna, 1912

If you are a dog and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater, suggest that he wear a tail.

Fran Lebowitz (1950 - )

No animal should ever jump up on the dining-room furniture unless absolutely certain that he can hold his own in the conversation.

Fran Lebowitz (1950 - )

Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.

George Eliot (1819 - 1880), 'Mr. Gilfil's Love Story,' Scenes of Clerical Life, 1857

Cats regard people as warmblooded furniture.

Jacquelyn Mitchard, The Deep End of the Ocean

Old age means realizing you will never own all the dogs you wanted to.

Joe Gores

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.

Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

We are alone, absolutely alone on this chance planet: and, amid all the forms of life that surround us, not one, excepting the dog, has made an alliance with us.

Maurice Maeterlinck (1862 - 1949)

A boy can learn a lot from a dog: obedience, loyalty, and the importance of turning around three times before lying down.

Robert Benchley (1889 - 1945)

I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.

Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

Did you ever walk into a room and forget why you walked in? I think that's how dogs spend their lives.

Sue Murphy

Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a function.

Unknown

LilacDragon · Post by **LilacDragon** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 1:48 pm

Some days I like my dog much more then I like my children.

Sunray · Post by **Sunray** » Wed Aug 09, 2006 2:02 pm

I think people who never had kids absolutely do substitute their pets for kids.

My sister and her hubby never had kids. One day, I talked her into adopting a puppy. From that day on, Mya, the new puppy was treated like a child. Up to the time she went into heart failure from old age, they had spent thousands of dollars on her medical conditions. The dog was pampered with massages, baths, grooming appointments every week and a wardrobe of coats, sweaters, hats and even boots! She even painted her toe nails.

Poor Mya at age 11 finally went into cardiac arrest at the vets office and died. They had Mya cremated and kept her ashes in an urn on their shelf. My sister cried for that dog over a period of almost five years. My sisters husbands mom died and they asked family members if they could place the urn in the casket for burial to bring Mya's death closure.

The family agreed and Mya was buried with the mother-in-law. Several years later, she is now looking to adopt another puppy. In my sisters case, Mya became the child that she never had.

CheshireCat · Post by **CheshireCat** » Wed Aug 09, 2006 2:10 pm

Well, I have never had kids, I have also never been married. i don't know if that influences the way i feel about my animals or not. I don't think of my cat as my child, I think of her more as my best friend. She is my constant companion and confidant. I love her to peices, even when she is a brat, and she can be. I named her Veruka Salt for a reason! She's my girl though.Veruka

Bill Sikes · Post by **Bill Sikes** » Wed Aug 09, 2006 3:14 pm

Marie5656 wrote: Not sure why I thought of this. But, do you think people who have not had children become more attached to thier pets than those with children? (...) You know..seeing them as the kids they never had?

I am sure of it. I can recall people in that situation who have actually *said* it.

People form attachments to all sorts of things. Relatives; children; friends,

fostered children, favourites; pets; favourite pipes; books; walking-sticks;

so on and so on. I don't think it's "nuts".

Nomad · Post by **Nomad** » Wed Aug 09, 2006 3:25 pm

Does being "fond" of sheep indicate anything ?

RedGlitter · Post by **RedGlitter** » Wed Aug 09, 2006 6:28 pm

I am 40 with no kids, never wanted any. I have five dogs of my own, nine foster dogs and three cats. They are my beloved fur friends. I don't treat them as children and don't see them as my kids. I see them as my friends and companions.

CheshireCat · Post by **CheshireCat** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 3:09 am

RedGlitter wrote: I am 40 with no kids, never wanted any. I have five dogs of my own, nine foster dogs and three cats. They are my beloved fur friends. I don't treat them as children and don't see them as my kids. I see them as my friends and companions.

Right on! Exactly! That's how I feel about my cat, my friend!

Lizard Lips · Post by **Lizard Lips** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 5:52 pm

Nomad wrote: Does being "fond" of sheep indicate anything ?

Well, yes it does. But I don't think it has anything to do with not having kids.:-2

I know that from my personal experience, I was extremely attached to my 2 German Shepherds. I took them everywhere. They rode in my car, slept on my bed, went just about everywhere I went. Then I had a baby. I felt massive guilt over how much less time I could spend with the dogs. It completely changed my relationship with the dogs because I had a human infant to care for. I think many people treat their pets like their kids.