What is your definition of a pet?

[Featheredsamurai]

I have a few friends who think of animals as animals, rather than family. A friend always insist she loves them, but one time I saw her old dog with a painful looking cut and I asked if she was going to take him to a vet. She told me that he is old, and is going to die in a few years anyway so they aren't going to take him. They had more important things for their money(they are a little tight on that). He used to belong to their cousin, who was going to put him down when their kids grew up and left. She was horrified at this and adopted him to live out his live with her. I agreed with her, it was horrible to want to put him down just because their kids left. I can see that she really does love them, but to her they are only pets while my pets are family/companions. She always tells me that I spoil Rosie and Kenji, and my response is that she doesn't spoil her tiels enough.

So to me, Pet means animals we have in our possession that we (hopefully) treat affectionately.

But I never call the animals I live with pets, because they are so much more to me than that. I don't want people thinking that they are only "animals" to me when the love I feel for them is the same love someone has for their children and closest friends.

 

[Mare Miller]

I believe that "pet" is just a word and can mean different things to different people. To me, it means so much more than just an animal that I take care of. It is an animal that I take care WITH, it is an animal that I love as much as any family member and I grieve as much when I lose one as though I lost one of my human family members.