My Yorkie is my little girl. My husband and I are in our seventies. When I talk to Holly I refer to her as mommie's little girl. She is a spoiled little girl. My husband says if "Holly can't go then I don't go." They are to be loved. She is the most lovable little dog I have ever came in contact with. (I say little, she weighs 6.2 lbs.)

Ya think?! LOL- Keoki is my son for sure :) And I am proud of that!!!!! He's my baby boy

My kids who are now adults always wished they were dogs, hmmmm wonder why?

Since DH has retired, he spends a lot of time with the "kids". He calls them his kids/babies more than I do, well almost. But these little babies are always glad to see me and they don't talk back. I have friends that want to come back as my "kids" when they die.

LOL, guilty as charged. Jackson is like my son, and best friend all in one. He does get Christmas gifts, and new things all the time, and I spend way more money on him than I probably should. But, he also gets to fully be a dog! I'm not in ANY way a promoter of toting a dog around in a bag all day like it's a stuffed animal, not letting their feet touch the ground, etc.

Can not wait to get off work and go home to the "Kids"
Study should have been more people treating pets like children .:D

Really??? I don't believe it! LOL :rolleyes: :D

SPOILED children, might I add. :p

lol... Just today I was visiting some neighbors and they were so glad to see me and "the kids" ;p

I am in the club too... I just got my Roxie last week(it took me a bit to save upfor her BUT it was all worth it) and I concider her my little daughter, and my bear is my son. My kids say I take better care of my fur-babies then them lol. First thing I do in the morning is dart out of bed and take care of them throughout the day they go everywhere with me and they sleep with me. So I guess you can say I am GUILTY lol I love it. I love my bear he is actually my son's dog BUT I take care of him. but I have never been more happier till I got my Roxie:aimeeyork

I get the same 'next-life-wish'
 

from people outside of my family :D. Sad thing is, I sense jealousy from family members :eek:. Yes! jealousy toward my babies...unbelievable :mad:.

I totally believe you :D

in all honesty
 

it is pretty bad when my one and only child says "she loves that dog more than she loves me" it's not true!! BUT, if you could only see the way my 17 year old son loves on harley. it is too cute for words!! i would say, at least harley doesn't talk back......but i can't!! he is very vocal and knows how to tell us EXACYLY what he wants. :p I do love my harleyboo!!!!

I agree
 

with you about 'toting' the babies 'in a bag all day', but it depends when and where. For example; I go to the flea market a lot in the summer and what I see people do with their furry-babies really infuriates me. Picture this: it's super hot--the air AND the cement floor, these people have no water for the little ones (I check), people are almost on top of each other-accidentally bumping into one another, dropping things, etc. These babies are dressed in fabrics too thick for the weather and/or very hairy. They are too small to let walk around in this conditions and can get hurt easily:(.

I check the cement floor myself, barefooted. Yeap, I take my shoe off and check to see if it's safe for my babies to walk around a bit and I make sure there are hardly any people or cars. I also take their stroller and plenty of water, plus I buy ice because Nini only drinks iced-water in the summer. When my babies get tired or hot, they park their little butts or scratch at their stroller to let me know they've had enough and want in:D.

When I see people caring for their little ones, I want to hug them and kiss them...I truly believe that you can tell a character of a person by the way they treat their indefensible fur-children:animal-pa

I feel the same way
 

about calling mine 'dogs', my husband got offended once when someone referred to them that way too. I told my hubby that that is what they are just like we are animals as well ;) and that we shouldn't feel upset when someone refers to them as 'dogs', we should be offended if they call them humans :D.
But the truth is that I secretly felt a bit angry as well. I couldn't figure out why until recently. Unconsciously, I want to differentiate my 'dogs' from those that people think of as 'just dogs'. And to let the people that truly love dogs know that I'm one of them.

To set apart mine from those of people that shouldn't have plants, let alone dogs, (not necessarily apart from the innocent dogs who had the misfortune of ending up with those people) I want to send out a subtle but clear warning that my 'dogs' ARE my children and they're risking a lot if they dare treat my babies with any less respect and consideration then they would someone's human children. That I will respond like any mother protecting my pooches, that they shouldn't be surprised and I shouldn't be held accountable for hurting their feelings pretty badly :p

I don't think that we 'need our companion animals more than ever', I think that we are becoming more informed. We know now more than before. We know now that they DO feel, they cry, get scared, think, etc., just like us. I think all this has made some of us more aware and understanding of our moral and social responsibilities when adopting a fur baby :D.

My motherly instincts have been sharp since I was a baby and got a new baby sister (we're 1 and1/2 years apart). I had to be watched because somehow I wanted to care of her and so could have hurt the baby unintentionally. We had dogs, but I didn't know a lot of things about them and so I didn't treat them like I did my baby sister. Now I know better and so I do better :D. I think education is key :thumbup: