I am an owner. And I am always a little uncomfortable (maybe that is too strong a word) when I am at the vet’s and they say something to my dog about “daddy”. I love her, but she is still a dog.
OTOH, I have never been a parent and having her lets me understand a little better what it is like. I’ll never understand fully, but I understand better than I did. She depends on me for everything and when she is sick and I see her looking up at me with those trusting eyes, I always think how much more difficult it must be for people with sick children.
So I do understand the comparison, but I don’t really subscribe to being a pet parent.
Last time I fed my dog cheap food, she protested by crapping in our closet. We have an agreement now, I won’t feed her cheap food and she won’t land mine the closet.
I find “pet parent” as eye-rollingly ridiculous as many of the rest of you do. But I would lean more towards classifying my cats as “members of the family” than as my “possessions,” so I hesitate to use the words “pet owner” either.
My beagles are tri colored overlords. They can turn the guilt on so easy. Big eyes, look sad when I am not ready for a walk when they are , is effective. Nordberg is doing it now. They go for a 2 mile plus walk in the park, every damn day. Every damn day.
I agree, Thudlow Boink. I despise the term “pet parent”, which I have not heard before this thread, and acknowledge the term and concept of “pet ownership”.
But I consider my dogs to be members of the family (at least most of the time ;)).
Agreeing with Thudlow, lone cashew, and Khadaji. They’re much more than just an object to me, but “parent” isn’t quite right and is too cutesy, yet “owner” doesn’t convey my sense of responsibility to them, and caring for them.
My animals are easily one of the most important things in my life.
I’ve been breeding rats for almost 17 years. I schedule my whole year around their breeding and showing schedule.
I did cat and dog rescue for years. I dote on the dogs and cats we have now. Veterinary bills far outstrip medical ones (we usually don’t even see a doctor, we suck it up because we have no insurance) and we feed high-quality food.
We don’t plan ever to become parents of a human child. We may adopt at some point.
…and we still don’t call our pets children. They’re companions, they’re not children. (If they were children, we wouldn’t have 'em!)
I was all :rolleyes: when my husband started referring to me as “mommy” when talking to Sadie, but now when she wants to go outside and I’m in the middle of something, I tell her to “ask Daddy”. I used to say “go ask Daddy”, but when she hears “go”, she thinks it’s time for a r-i-d-e.
Awhile back somebody cut us off in traffic. I don’t usually get upset at asshole drivers but I was all “Goddammit, Sadie was in the car!” Same reaction as if we’d had a kid in the car.
As for food, I look for meat as the first ingredient, but that’s it. She loves Purina One. My husband goes out for breakfast every day and Sadie waits in the car, sitting in the driver’s seat. He always gets an extra piece of bacon for her. She also gets a Slim Jim from the convenience store where we get gas, and she’ll whine if we drive by without stopping.
We’ve actually thought about what will happen to her when we die. We’re both 66 and she was two in June, so she may well outlive us. We’ve arranged for my daughter to take her after we’re gone. I guess that makes us parents, maybe more than the other stuff.
I sometimes refer to myself as “the Kittys’ Mommy” when speaking to them, but I wouldn’t use a phrase like that in front of other human beings except as a joke.
Hmmm. I wouldn’t call myself a “pet parent” but I do tend to refer to my cats as “the kids.” As in, “oh crap, I forgot to buy more litter for the kids” or “I’ll meet you in five minutes, I just have to feed the kids.” Of course, I don’t have any children of my own, so I’m not being ambiguous. (Not that my calling them “the kids” means that I think of them as children-replacements, or as equivalent to having actual children. It’s just an affectionate term I use.)
Such comments are only used when talking to my sisters, who know whom I mean. Obviously I wouldn’t say it in front of a stranger or someone who wasn’t aware that I’m, um, kidding.
I should mention that my cats consist of a momcat and her son & daughter. So if anything I might be the older cat’s “mom” but I can only be a grandma to the younger guys.
My cats have always been my babies. Doesn’t matter how old they get, they are still babies. I talk baby talk to them, too, which drives Hubster nuts.
I call myself Mommy to the cats, and I refer to Daddy. Again, more eyerolling from Hubster.
However, when he eats a tuna sandwich, he drains the water from the tuna into a bowl for the cats. He sometimes leaves more than just a bit of tuna in the can for them to “clean out.” And when he fries bacon, I find pieces in the cat food bowl.
I don’t know that I would necessarily refer to myself as a pet parent in public. Maybe. But I would insist that the cats are definitely part of my family.
~VOW
I’m a pet owner. I love them, but I paid for them and they are my property. If they get to be adults and decide they want to go live with someone else (which would never happen, but for the sake of argument), I will go get them back, as they are mine.
Pet “parent” is just a cutesy term that is kind of offensive to actual parents, in my mind.
“Guardian” and “companion” and more well-meaning, but, really, not all that useful. If you want to show you take care of your pets well, you are a good pet owner, not a pet guardian.
Pet owner. My dog is happy, healthy, and obedient. And he clearly looks up to me as a kind, benevolent pack leader. He does everything out of a desire to please me. I always greet him when he walks into the room or when I pass him by. But he is a dog and I am a human, and I do not think of myself as his parent. Although I wouldn’t object if people called me his guardian.
Although I do admit it would probably sound cool to call myself “The Dogfather”.
I’m not saying your theory is entirely wrong - but at least in my case it is. Both my vet and her assistant call me by my name. Of course, I always bring human treats, so I’m sure I stand out.
Yes, I mean for those vets that say Mummy/Daddy, that might be the reason why. If you’ve been there often enough that they actually remember your name, then that’s different. We see a different vet pretty much every time we’ve gone, which has only been for vaccinations, chipping and checking-up before neutering.
