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Fur Baby Fridays…

Some people have Wordless Wednesday, I think I might go to Fur Baby Fridays.

I got into a rather lengthy discussion on Mother’s Day when I halfheartedly joked that my fur baby didn’t even get me a card, let alone make me brunch. I was immediately jumped at and let known not to trivialize the role of mother by saying having a pet was the same thing. I didn’t say that owing a pet was the same as being a parent, but consider this:

Just like a baby, my dog has no way of feeding herself. If I let out her bowl she would most likely just eat and eat until she exploded like a goldfish. But I would still have to get the food to her bowl.

When she pukes all over the side of the bed during the night and I start the morning accidently stepping in it, I’m the one cleaning it up.

She barks and I don’t know what she wants…well, that’s a lie. She wants food, but I don’t know which she would prefer, chicken or bacon (bacon is my obvious choice).

When she is sick, I must take her to the doctor and get her better. If she needs medication, I must administer it. If she is feeling sad, she needs hugs and kisses to make it all better.

I don’t have to change diapers, but I have to come behind her with a little green baggie and pick it up. And of course, there is potty training.

So just like a child, she depends on me for survival. When my dog is afraid of a 2# bunny, this is very evident that she wouldn’t make it in the real world. 😛

What I don’t have to do is worry about her coming home with tattoos on her knees…mostly because in order to leave the house she needs me and a long rope we call her leash. I don’t have to worry about her staying out past curfew, because again, she needs me to get her to wherever she is going…and those Dog Park parties never last as long as people think they will. 🙂 I don’t have to figure out how to pay for college for her. She will be a loaf living in my home for forever (though I know a lot of people in their late 20’s still doing this), while this is a financial suck; I at least know where she is at all times. I can leave her alone at home…and even lock her in a large metal crate, with no visit from CPS in sight. I don’t have to pony up money for the latest clothing trends; in fact my dog is a nudist, so that cuts down on laundry as well. 😉

Of course you miss out on some of the great stuff. Like having your kid make you a drawing of you and them in a park or at the zoo. The only thing my dog makes is a mess. 🙂 Though in some ways that might be good because I tend to look at 5 year old drawings of myself and wonder if that’s how they really think they look. No watching her go to prom (though no worrying about her getting knocked up at prom either) or seeing her walked down the aisle. No graduations unless you take your fur baby to obedience school…which my fur baby would have never passed. 🙂

So mothers of human babies don’t be hating on those of us with fur babies, it’s all we’ve got. And to us, they are our babies. We enjoy their hugs and kisses just as much as you do from your kid

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Comments

  6. cute post! I have a child and two dogs. They’re all my babies. Even my 3 yr old names the dogs when asked who is in his family.

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  7. Love the idea of a Furbaby Friday. Your post is right on. Dogs are perpetual 4 year olds. I have two of them and I can attest to the puke on the floor and wishing they could tell me how they feel or what they want. (Daisy tries to quite a bit). My sister has 2 kids and a dog. She says the kids can be easier. Lastly I just have to say that the photo you choose is adorable. I just want to give her cuddles!

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  10. Thank you! Since I don’t have kids yet, my two cats are my babies and I definitely treat them like that. My sister, who has kids, doesn’t really understand and likes to act like it doesn’t count, but they totally do. I take care of them 7 days a week just like a parent of a child would.

    I like the idea for Fur Baby Fridays. 🙂 Your dog is adorable!

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  12. Lovely post.I have two sons and many fur babies who are as precious.
    And yours is sooo cute.
    You are a lucky mom.

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  14. I have a child and a dog. The dog came first and I will always consider him my “first born”. And I still love taking cute pictures of him which I thought would stop once we had my son. But it hasn’t!

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  15. Cute post! But I gotta say I’m one of those moms who doesn’t understand people who call their pets babies and themselves mothers when they haven’t been pregnant, given birth etc. I gotta be honest and say it bothers me. Maybe I’m just not a pet person, but it is really honestly not the same in any way. Not that having a fur baby isn’t a special relationship all in it’s own though. And your doggie is such a cutie 🙂

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  16. Having 2 kids and 2 cats, I really wish moms would get off their high horses about how pets can’t possibly be the same as kids. For some people, it isn’t, but all I have to do is look no further than my grandparents to see a perfect example of a furbaby… they pamper and dote on that dog more than I do my own kids. I would swear that they love it more their actual kids… but they might take offense to that 🙂 The only time it bothered me when someone commented about puppies being just like children was when it was actually meant as a slam towards me and to make it seem like my job wasn’t a big deal… when moms of furbabies genuinely feel that way, it doesn’t bother me at all 🙂

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  17. You should submit some of those comments to one of my favorite blogs, STFU Parents. Seriously, I get so tired of all that kind of crap.

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  19. Children and fur babies, love them all!

    The only thing worse than a fur baby that likes to eat a lot is one who is off its food, the worry of it…

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  21. Amen to that! This line in particular made me laugh: “I can leave her alone at home…and even lock her in a large metal crate, with no visit from CPS in sight.”

    I’m not planning to have kids so my furry ones are all I’ve got. I always joke to my husband and ask what the cats got me for Mother’s Day. He typically points me in the direction of the litter box for my “gift.”

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  22. @Heidi what about moms that CAN’T get pregnant or give birth? If they adopt are they not ‘Mothers’?

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  25. Thank you for posting what I know is true! I have 8 fur babies (3 dogs, 5 cats) and love them dearly. I joke to people about the battery dolls they make teens carry around to experience life as a mother…whatever. Get a puppy, that is what life is like at 2 am and they need to go pee!
    Well said!!

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  26. This was such a wonderful post. I love dogs and think it’s great that card companies make ‘from the dog/cat’ cards. 🙂

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  27. Amen sister! Thank you for giving props to us Fur Mommas who love and adore our babies as much as the Mommas to human ones. I was lucky enough to have mine for 14 wonderful years. My Milo was my best friend, my secret-keeper, my comfort and my smile at the end of a long day. I even brought him to South Korea and back while I taught English. I could never imagine my life without him in it. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about him or give thanks that he was a part of my life. I appreciate you giving props to those who love ALL souls – human, canine, feline (I don’t know what rabbits are but I’d include them too) and whatever animal/sentient being that makes us happy. Love is love. Thanks Peabody 🙂

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  28. 110% agree. We plan on having human babies one day, but right now, our two pugs are like our kids. They’re out little world.

    I never get people that “hate” on other’s relationships with whatever… I mean what works for them, may not work for you, but if they’re happy, why the heck do you care.

    Any parent of human babies who feel that way need to get off the high horse and understand that not everyone looks at the world the same way as you do.

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  30. @MrsCreepy – Of course they are. The adoption process is long, difficult, uncomfortable and even upsetting, not unlike physically having a child. Are you saying there’s no difference between adopting a child and adopting a pet? I meant no offense by my comment especially to women who can’t have children(honestly, I’m really not trying to attack anyone or get into a fight 🙁 I just wanted to put my opinion out here too). But taking care of your dog as opposed to preparing and teaching your child to become an independent human being(and a decent one if possible) is a tiny bit different. I don’t deny the love that you all have for your pets and the joy and happiness that they bring you though.

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  32. Love this! My furbaby (Butch the female bulldog) is so precious to me and my husband! and everyone says she has as much personality and attitude as a human baby 🙂

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  33. This is a fabulous post. I totally relate since I’m a fur-baby mom without children. Don’t hate me, but my pups got me a mom’s day card.
    🙂 …thanks to fur-baby Dad.

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  34. My dog is about to turn 13 years old. He’s a large species and he’s been diabetic for 7.5 years, his end is coming rapidly, unfortunately. I also have 2 children who have been with me half the time I’ve had my dog. Is my love for my children much much different and arguably much stronger? Of course! That doesn’t make my dog any less a part of me. You know, you are somewhat required by law and morality to keep your kids when they break your favorite lamp, you can’t put them up on Craigslist. When your dog breaks your lamp and you forgive and continue letting them on your furniture, well that takes a special kind of love.

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  37. I definitely see that FurBaby Friday needs to be a regular thing. I completely agree on all accounts – Jason and I are ONLY having children of the pet – kind, and we like it that way 🙂

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  38. I love the idea of Fur Baby Fridays!

    There is a great beauty in the love they share… & the ability to leave them home alone without having to get a sitter when we need to just get some alone time! 🙂

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  39. At least human babies do have the ability to grow up and (hopefully) take care of themselves. My dog is like a 5 year old child who will never grow up! 🙂

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  42. Fur Babies melt my heart. Have you seen the national geographic channel shows on people who take on monkeys as pets? It is wild and those pet parents can add changing diapers for life to the familiarity with human children. They call them monkids….

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  43. I love the idea of fur-baby Fridays. I am a fur mommy of a cat and a dog. Me and my husband have had 6 miscarriages total and our animals have taken the place of the children we cannot have. My sister jokes with me about how I spoil my “children” but she is understanding of the relationship I have with my animals. She is not a pet owner and has 3 boys and has not once put me down for the way I treat my fur babies. She even loaned me over $1000 when I needed to take my fur baby to the vet for care. So I am right there with you on how you feel. And your fur-baby is so adorable. I love seeing you post about her as well as your amazing recipes.

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  44. I am a mom to a number of grown children, but I also have a fur baby who is my constant companion. She is more affectionate than the kids are most of the time. I completely agree that I am the one responsible for care, feeding, and clean up for her. She cannot do those for herself.

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  45. I don’t wish to get involved with the discussion except to add that I LOVE those sheets and I have similar ones on my bed right now! Lol!

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