Close Menu
    What's Hot

    Visit Syracuse Encourages Locals to Discover Nearby ‘Simple Wonders’

    May 30, 2025

    Summer Activities Guide

    May 30, 2025

    Graduation Gifts the Class of 2025 Will Love

    May 29, 2025
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Trending
    • How to Develop ‘Momfidence’
    • Helping Your Child Cope with Seasonal Allergies
    • College Savings 101
    • Fostering Healthy Sibling Relationships
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube
    Family Times Family Times
    • Community Guide
    • CNY Events Calendar
    • Things to Do in CNY
      1. Activities
      2. Treat Yourself
      Featured

      Visit Syracuse Encourages Locals to Discover Nearby ‘Simple Wonders’

      By Courtney KlessMay 30, 20250
      Recent

      Visit Syracuse Encourages Locals to Discover Nearby ‘Simple Wonders’

      May 30, 2025

      Treat Yourself: Mark your calendar for Disney’s “The Lion King”—and the other Broadway shows coming to Syracuse in 2025

      November 26, 2024

      Ride the Rails: Scenic Train Rides for Families

      October 1, 2024
    • Parenting
      1. Pregnancy
      2. Babies
      3. Kids
      4. Preschoolers/Toddlers
      5. Special Needs
      6. Teens
      7. Pets
      8. View All

      The Power to Save a Life: Cord blood is being used to treat more than 80 diseases

      January 30, 2020

      It’s Not What It Looks Like: Reflections on motherhood’s changes, outside and inside

      July 29, 2019

      In Search of Sleep: 8 Strategies for coping with wakeful babies

      July 29, 2019

      A Surgical Birth: Many pregnant women are likely to deliver by cesarean

      July 29, 2019

      Strangers Bearing Advice: New babies bring out the expert in everyone

      August 1, 2021

      Hand to Mouth: How to help babies start to sample solid food

      August 1, 2020

      315 Bulletin

      August 1, 2020

      Name, Please? Expectant parents face another momentous decision

      August 1, 2020

      Prep Work: Keep your family’s food safe this summer

      June 1, 2022

      A Blooming Craft: These homemade flowers make a great centerpiece

      March 1, 2021

      Rainbow Snowflakes: A colorful craft even little ones can make

      November 24, 2020

      DIY Critter Magnets: Make cute clips for hanging reminders and more

      September 1, 2020

      DIY Critter Magnets: Make cute clips for hanging reminders and more

      September 1, 2020

      Allergy Adjustments: Parents can support their food allergic child

      September 3, 2019

      Calming Commotion: How to deal with car sickness and more

      June 27, 2019

      Introducing Riff Rockit: Kindie artist to play jingles at Leon Fest

      June 1, 2017

      What Is ABA Therapy for Autism? How To Find a Provider for Your Child 

      September 9, 2024

      A History of Inclusion: The Jowonio School marked 50 years in 2019

      March 30, 2020

      Reaching a Milestone: Now the largest chapter in the country, Special Olympics New York is celebrating 50 years

      March 30, 2020

      Come Out and Play: Move Along offers adaptive sports for youth, adults

      March 30, 2020

      Freedom on Wheels: How E-Scooters Empower Teens and Support Family Routines

      November 4, 2024

      Prep Work: Keep your family’s food safe this summer

      June 1, 2022

      A Little Jolt: Caffeine’s risks for kids and teens

      March 1, 2021

      A Blooming Craft: These homemade flowers make a great centerpiece

      March 1, 2021

      Is Puppy Financing Right For Your Family? Pros And Cons Explored

      April 22, 2024

      Furry Friends: What it takes to adopt a pet for the first time

      July 1, 2020

      Tail Wagging Fun: Lights on the Lake Dog Walk 2019

      November 14, 2019

      Uncommon Companions: Local pet store sticks to its niche

      May 30, 2019

      Helping Your Child Cope with Seasonal Allergies

      April 29, 2025

      College Savings 101

      April 29, 2025

      Fostering Healthy Sibling Relationships

      March 28, 2025

      How to Find the Right Summer Sitter

      March 28, 2025
    • Education
      1. Educator of the Month
      2. Class of the Month
      3. Education News
      4. Reading
      5. Teaching
      Featured

      Angelene Guglielmo, Film Program Instructor, Le Moyne College Summer Arts Institute

      By Courtney KlessMay 29, 20250
      Recent

      Angelene Guglielmo, Film Program Instructor, Le Moyne College Summer Arts Institute

      May 29, 2025

      Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways

      April 29, 2025

      Tom Meier, Program Manager and Camp Director at Baltimore Woods Nature Center

      March 28, 2025
    • Crafts & DIY
      • Create
      • Holiday Crafts
    Family Times Family Times
    Home»Parenting»First Person»Fur Babies: Can you compare pet ownership to parenting?
    First Person

    Fur Babies: Can you compare pet ownership to parenting?

    Neil DavisBy Neil DavisOctober 3, 2017Updated:March 20, 2025No Comments5 Mins Read
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    If you ever want the attention of a room full of adults, I suggest this sentence: “Getting a puppy is exactly like having a baby.” It’s the battle cry of the childless, usually spoken with the misguided enthusiasm of someone who has gotten a full night’s sleep.

    In my younger years, I had the audacity to make this assertion aloud, in the presence of stunned mothers and fathers who were undoubtedly anticipating my eventual day of parental reckoning.

    “He’ll get his,” one of them likely whispered to another, envisioning me someday elbow-deep in diapers and mashed bananas, eating my words.

    I’m older now, wiser. I’ve helped raise a daughter to the age of 15, sharing every joy and worry along the way. It’s been a challenge, one that many people consider the ultimate test of human existence. Biologically, we are meant to procreate.

    But what comes naturally doesn’t always come easily. And over time, I’ve developed a respect for the difference between child rearing and pet training. The costs involved, for instance, are not comparable, and they are measured not just in dollars but also in time, stress and perhaps a bit of sanity.

    The parallels are endless, although the more meaningful connection exists at a deeper level, beneath the fur, behind the whiskers, radiating from the childlike eyes that look up at you with unconditional love.

    Children require a wealth of specific items and services: backpacks, ear medicine, algebra tutoring, a constant supply of new shoes, lectures about not eating paint. The list is substantial, yet the emotional return on investment is clear: Parenting is one of those rare life experiences from which you truly get back what you put in.

    But can’t the same be said of raising a pet? I have never been able to completely discount how caring for an animal can be similar to caring for a child. Although they are not our blood, these creatures fulfill our need for connection and affection in very human ways.

    There are the obvious comparisons: the potty training, the drooling, the toppled houseplants, the posted photos of every cute expression, the 2 a.m. crawl into your bed during a thunderstorm. The parallels are endless, although the more meaningful connection exists at a deeper level, beneath the fur, behind the whiskers, radiating from the childlike eyes that look up at you with unconditional love. Well, sometimes hunger, but mostly love.

    I grew up in a household that featured a continual rotation of dogs, plus one ornery cat intent on destroying the universe. There were several caged rodents, a bird and one rabbit, although the stench coming from the garage suggested at least three. Animals were a constant presence and source of companionship, setting the stage for the years I spent working as a veterinary technician and the aspiration I had to assemble my own domestic menagerie when the time was right.

    Before the birth of my daughter, pet ownership felt like the natural order of progression up the nurturing ladder. It started with Sea-Monkeys, because pouring a bag of crustaceans into an aquarium seemed the baseline of parental responsibility. When those worked out, we moved up to fish. Eventually, we were ready for a puppy, and then another. These were all baby steps, literally—a means of determining if we were capable of raising a child.

    Since then, some pets have come and gone. My human child is a teenager. I’m divorced and, when Sadie isn’t at our house, my girlfriend, Mary, and I are outnumbered by the animals. Our yellow Lab, Lulu, is the oldest, the calm child, the well-behaved second-grader who poses curious questions with a tilt of her head and who keeps the backyard squirrel-free. Gibson, our rambunctious 2-year-old orange tabby, is the baby, born with an absurd thirst for window-gazing and an even more absurd number of toes. The middle child is our parakeet, Gidget, squawking for attention when she isn’t flying through the living room amid a trail of blue feathers.

    Collectively, these beasts comprise our multispecies family. Like any parents, we cherish each stage of development. We celebrate the small milestones (learning to use the litter box) and the large ones (learning not to eat from the litter box). We love our pets, feed them, care for them, and nurse them back to health when they are injured. We mediate sibling rivalries with a careful mix of scolding and treats. We use the phrase “Stop licking that” way more than any parents should.

    Together, we watch these animals grow and mature, witnessing our influence on their character. There’s a sense of mutual reliance: We provide for them, and in return we receive expressions of affection like wagging tails. And we do it all despite the unbearable sorrow we know to expect when they are someday gone.

    No, pets are not exactly like children, but they come so close. For some of us, they represent that same unique bond, effectively filling a vacant branch on the family tree: son, daughter, brother, sister, companion. Over time, our pets become exactly what we want them to be, often mimicking the pure love of a child, just with a little more vacuuming.

    empty nest First Person parenting Pet Health pets
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Tumblr Email
    Neil Davis

    Related Posts

    How to Develop ‘Momfidence’

    April 30, 2025

    Helping Your Child Cope with Seasonal Allergies

    April 29, 2025

    College Savings 101

    April 29, 2025
    Flip Through Our Latest Issue!
    Stay In Touch
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    Top Posts

    2025 Summer Camp Guide

    April 1, 2025807 Views

    DIY: Make your own vibrant, paper fans in only a few easy steps

    July 1, 2020541 Views

    Host a Kid-Friendly Friendsgiving Party

    November 1, 2024409 Views

    Baby Swim Classes in CNY

    August 1, 2024376 Views

    Family Times Magazine publishes a digital magazine highlighting events, businesses, and content to inform and entertain families here in Central New York. Sign up for our twice monthly newsletter to have the magazine and other featured content.
    ____

    Email Us:
    [email protected]
    Publisher:
    [email protected]
    Contact: 1.315.422.7011

    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram LinkedIn RSS
    Our Picks

    Fall Activities Guide

    October 1, 2024
    Most Popular

    2025 Summer Camp Guide

    April 1, 2025807 Views

    DIY: Make your own vibrant, paper fans in only a few easy steps

    July 1, 2020541 Views

    Host a Kid-Friendly Friendsgiving Party

    November 1, 2024409 Views
    © 2025 Family Times, CNY. Designed by Crossroads Marketing.
    • Our Authors
    • Archives
    • Things to do around Syracuse and CNY: Local Events Calendar
    • Advertising

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.