I absolutely felt that way about my two little dogs (I had them from my mid 20s to late 30s). They were absolutely on par with any human in terms of the value they had.
Then one Thanksgiving, I got very nostalgic and sad, feeling like something was changing and my relationship with my dogs would never be the same. Turns out I was pregnant, which I discovered about a week later.
Instead of my dogs being valued less, I was surprised to find that I unlocked a whole new level of caring for another being when I had a human child.
Those dogs have long since crossed the bridge. My kids are teens now and we have a single dog and a cat. Our dog is my service dog but deeply loves my kids as well, and I’m delighted to see that they love her as deeply as I do- and with a bond like I had with my pre-parenthood little dogs. (Our cat prefers the kids to me now, as he isn’t a huge fan of our dog.)
I think one of the things we consistently get wrong as humans is thinking there are limits on how much we can love. When more opportunities for loving another enter our lives, I think we can always expand and love more- without loving anyone else less.
And honestly I think animals have the same capacity- we just often don’t recognize it.
My companion animals were my family. Love them up to the stars & sky. Had them 10 yrs or so. I lost 4 senior babies in the last 3 months, old age. I still miss them, always will.
Adopted a new shelter dog today, terrier. I love her already but harder to bond.
I know what you mean exactly! My dog made me so happy I sacrificed potential roommate living situations, I would have gone crazy without him. That was years ago and I still miss him. I’m glad I didn’t sacrifice my best friend just for a home for myself. I was able to find another home where we both could live happily together until his end. I’m about ready now to adopt a new dog or pup. I may name my new pup Bandit just like my dog Bandit who was by far the best dog I ever met.
I completely understand. Growing up, we always had a lot of animals and now that I’m an adult, we recently got a 4th cat to our third. I am at a baby fever stage but it isn’t a good time job wise. So, we got a kitten and it was a wonderful choice. My sister told me it was irresponsible to get a 4th cat and that I couldn’t have a baby in the future with 4 cats. I respect her view point but I know that isn’t true. My cats are my babies right now and, even when I’m a mom, always will be. They bring me so much joy in these hard times!
I have some frogs, snails, fish, and gerbils. I spend so much time watching them and taking pictures of them. I just love watching them live their little content lives. It’s makes me so happy to give them new things and spoil them.
