Is your pet part of the family or just a pet?

We have had our pup for 9 1/2 years, he is my sidekick when I am home. If I leave a room we are in, eventually he will get up and come check on me. Like if I am sitting on the throne he will do one of two things, check and make sure I am okay then wander off, or lay down in the room and wait for me.

We tell him we are going to bed and he will wait at the entrance of the hallway until we have both gone into the bedroom and then he will follow. He sleeps on the floor of our bedroom, when we get up in the morning he will always wait until the last person leaves before he leaves the bedroom.

He will follow me inside and out of the back yard no matter how many times I come in or out. I park out back, most of the times when I leave to run an errand I will tell him I will be right back and he waits for me in the backyard.

Our mutt Luke is part of the family!.

Some people leave them outside all the time. They shouldn’t have a dog if they do. If I was at home my lab was inside.

Other than when she was gone for hunting training, Susie (9 yrs) has gone to work with me just about every day….and when she doesn’t, she hates it!

Mine's a 60lb lap dog. Family for sure. My wife's dog is family too I guess. But more closely resembling that cousin that's a bit touched in the head.

I have had lots of pets (of all types) and they have all been a part of the family. That includes the Beagle I have now that is probably the worst pet I have ever had. She gets treated way better than she deserves. She is nothing but a PITA!!! Because of her I will not own another pet!

They are family because it hurts like hell when they die.

Definitely family for us

Yep

Family no doubt about it. I have one left out of eight. I am where nice folks like to dump their unwanted animals. Had seven cats too. Most all the cats were barn cats. Down to one there also. Rusty, my Jack Russel stray, is getting up there in years and I don't know what I'll do when he's gone. He may be thinking the same thing as me. I just don't know if I want to get another dog and have it outlive me. I don't want to put that on someone. Rusty sleeps beside the bed unless there's thunder and then he'll get up on the bed with me. He's probably the smartest dog I've had.

When my wife and I got married we did not have a pet and she did not grow up with a dog. Therefore she was of the thought that dogs stayed outside. Fast forward my buddy that was in CO had a litter of labs puppies and we took one when we were up there on vacation. On the way back home she would not allow that puppy to sleep on the floor it had to sleep in the bed between us then I had to hold it in my lap from Perryton, TX to Rockwall. When we had her breed when it was time to pick her up she drove out to East TX to get her.

We had four labs at the same time they all had different personalities, they were part of the family, and it hurt like hell when they each left.

Those that know me LOL.

Many have been great pets, but only two have ever qualified as part of the family. They have passed on, but remain part of our family memories.
Zorro lived to 16
This is Cassie, she made it to 17 1/2 years and was healthy till the day she passed.

Oh my!

I absolutely love my two dogs, but I don't value their lives in the same way I do my human family. They are loved, spoiled, and well cared for, but they are a pet.

We have always had dogs, my wife is a huge pet lover. I think it’d good for the kids too. I however, have never felt a connection with them. I’m just not a small animal guy, give me some cows instead. It seems like there is always pee, poop, or throw up somewhere to clean lol. It’s like having another messy kid

They're all family with their own unique personalities.

My dog is a dog. My daughter is my daughter.

We have always had a dog growing up. My last one was an absolutely great dog, I’d consider her part of the family. She rode shotgun with me she would immediately hop up and follow anywhere I went. She was an inside dog she was an outside dog she was wherever I went around the house or ranch. I had that dog longer than I’ve known my wife and almost twice as many years as my oldest is old. I miss her. That said dogs are dogs. I didn’t love her any where near a person I didn’t take her to dinner the bar work or Heb. They can be part of the fam and still be a dog.

My dogs are pets, even though I spend more time with them than most people in the family.
I say that because if you lose a family member, you don’t go buy another one. I really enjoy time with the dogs, and it hurts like hell when they leave us. It’s just my dogs are not my kids.

Dogs Welcome

People tolerated


have to say family

Not family but more like part of the pack. It worked well for our past two dogs. Prior to that I only had dogs when I was younger and they were basically outside farm dogs.

No more dogs for now. Maybe some day when we have a sticks & bricks.

Cats we like but they are cats and you are their pet.

That is more than true. I've posted before, our previous German Shepherd had to be euthanized because he couldn't function anymore. I had tears in my eyes all the way to Presidio from Alpine. Now we have a brother/sister pair of German Shepherds and the Great Pyrenees. Because they all shed, (a lot) they stay in what we call the sun room because of the two sky lights. The males don't really get along too well, but the female shepherd and the Pyrenees are best buddies. It's a hoot to watch them chase each other and play other dog games. Pyrenees and female shepherd have been neutered, but the male shepherd has one testicle that didn't descend so he gets moody and doesn't play well with the Pyrenees.

All of them are outstanding watch dogs and will let us know that someone is coming, before anyone is even half way to the house.

Seen, had, raised both. Loved my true pets, loved my true workers. Kinda hard to keep 5 full bred race greyhounds or same number of coon dogs, pointers in your house. They know what their job is, you teach them to “kennel” and load, and they love it. Seen some rough things in the working dogs being chosen…as in all competitive animals.

For routine vet appointments I take all three of them at the same time. The female shepherd will get in the front passenger seat and sit there so she can see out. Catch her looking at me sometimes and wonder if she could speak she'd be telling me to watch for this or watch for that.

I knew I would smoke one out with that.