As parents we can sometimes come under intense pressure from our children to get a kitten, puppy or a pony. My daughter is pushing for a dog AND a lizard this year! She’s wanted a dog for years, then she saw someone carrying a lizard around town on their shoulder, so she added a lizard to her list.

 

My parental brain knows what she does not know. I know we don’t have a fenced section safe for a dog, nor do we have time to walk a dog. We already have a cat and a budgie (both of whom would love to play with her more). We could not even begin to afford a pony and we don’t really need a lizard right now.

 

So, I can only use her impassioned, spur of the moment pleas for another pet as a learning opportunity to teach her how much care, time and money goes into having pets. That pets are not just for Christmas, that they could be around for as many as 10, 15 or more Christmases.

Trying reverse psychology on me, she ups the ante with “when I move out, I’ll get a lizard and then you’ll see how cool it is. And you’ll be begging me to touch it!”

(Mum breathes)

Unable to gain traction on the lizard, she changes tact… “Why do we only have a cat and a bird, it’s so basic! Why can’t we at least have a parrot? Or could we get a pet mouse, or a hamster, or a guinea pig or a rabbit? Or turtles? They’re really cute” she says.

Unrelenting, she looks at the pets for adoption on lostpet.co.nz. She sees the special needs Sphynx hairless cat for adoption. Now we NEED the Sphynx…sigh.

“Can we get a cat like our cat?”.
“We already have our cat”, I say.
“Can we get a ginger cat named Garfield?”
“Can we have a dog then Mum, can we?! What if we just get an inside dog that doesn’t go outside? That’s a thing isn’t it?”
“If we can’t get a dog, she says, then I reckon we should just get another cat to keep our cat company. Or, we could move houses, so we have a fenced section.”

No…the answer is no

But if for you and your family the answer is yes, and you can commit to all that care and love and all those Christmases, great! A pet is a wonderful family member to treasure and grow up with your kids. Just please make sure they’re desexed. And please consider adopting a shelter pet and saving a life.