What separates the REAL pet lovers from the pet owners....

[critter crazy]

I dont think it is wrong to treat your pet as your children, nor does it seem odd to make them a cake or buy presents! But that does not mean, that because I dont, it makes me a "non pet Lover"! My cat sleeps on my bed, but my dog dosent, I buy a present for each animal at christmas, but do not bake cakes for birthdays. Does that just make me a pet owner, and not a pet lover?? I think not! I love my animals very much, and they are my life, but I do not go to the extreme.

The only reason a dog or cat would get excited by their special day, is because we are excited and feed off of our emotions. I think a great pet owner makes everday special, and not just one. That is just how I feel.

[Husky15]

I don't see anything wrong with baking a cake and celebrating on your dog's birthday or other events. I've never baked a cake for my dog or cats, but I would! And Kay you are right, the dog does know and you can tell what emotion they feel.

And also, Belle, CC, and Bobo all sleep on the bed with us and Belle and Bobo sleep under the covers and like to cuddle up to us [CC doesn't like to sleep under covers or cuddle, but he always sleeps at the end of my bed and sometimes between my legs on top of the covers] and I just love having a furkid to cuddle up to!

People don't let thier cats lick the salt off the fresh french fries?

Haha! Bobo doesn't lick the salt off, but he'll come up to us and steal a fry right off our plate!

[mruffruff]

I don't celebrate my pets birthdays or give them gifts for holidays. I don't know when their birthdays are and "they ain't talking".

I celebrate every day with them by being the best caretaker I can be. They are my family.

Baking cakes and buying gifts for our pets is more for us than the pet. But if that's what you want to do, DO IT! It doesn't mean you love your pets more than I do mine. We just express it in different ways.

[wolf_Q]

Those of you who don't think pets enjoy getting presents, etc. please come over and watch Nebo unwrap his Christmas presents. He LOVES it, he gets so excited when he just sees the box...he knows that it is for him. If I was celebrating his birthday just to make me happy, then I'd buy myself presents. No, he doesn't know its his birthday, but he enjoys it anyway! I guess I will think twice about posting photos of him with his gifts next time since some people on here apparently find it ridiculous.

[cali]

Guilty.. lol though I am also guilty of forgeting my babys B-days lately, since I started working and my moms job is shutting down I have been the one who has to pay the bills, buy the grocerys, gas up the van(never mind that I dont drive lol) etc.. I get so busy trying to figer out how I am going to pay all this on minimum wage that I barly notice the days anymore, as a result I have been barly remebering my babys b-days , some I remeber some just slip, or I remeber as I am heading to bed and I dont have the time bake them anything, so all they end up getting is a "Happy Birthday" and a pat... my babys are still spoiled though:

off leash runs in open feilds
regular grooming
cuddles
sleep on my bed under my covers
huge cages for the small creatures
big baskets full of toys for both dogs and critters
the critters get the best food plus veggies and treats
the dogs get home prepared raw

well they are waaayyyyy more spoiled then random pet owners spoil their pets lol

[luvofallhorses]

I'm with you, Kay. My pets ARE my children, too and that's how I treat them. and they are always excited to get stuff and I make their special days special. they even get excited to get Christmas presents.

and

It doesn't make the pet happy.

it makes mine happy!!

[.sarah]

Yesterday I bought a bed for Nova because the crate she stays in while we are gone doesn't have one -- it was ruined a month or two ago and there has only been a sheet in the crate. She watched carefully while I took the bed out of the bag it was in, and when I plopped it on the floor, her eyes got wide and she started wagging her tail real fast and looked back at me with a huge smile as if she was saying thank you. So, I do believe my pets understand these things, and I don't find it rediculous to celebrate birthdays, Christmas, etc. It makes them happy to recieve new toys, and it makes me happy to see them happy.

I bake them a cake for their birthday, they enjoy it.

I give them some of our food on Thanksgiving, and they enjoy that too.

On Christmas they get a bunch of new toys that they probably didn't need anyway, considering we already have basket fulls around the house. But, they enjoy it, and that's what I want.

I don't think that's rediculous Who cares if they don't know why we're doing it? Besides doing what I do every day by caring for them, these little presents and celebrations are the only way I know how to repay them for the never ending amount of love they provide.