Recent statistics show that 57 percent of Canadian households include pets while less than 30 percent have children.
There’s no doubt that having a pet in one’s life reaps many benefits - companionship, protection, entertainment, physical and mental health, etc.
There are many well documented cases that illustrate the sometimes profound bond between humans and animals, including Capitán, a German shepherd in Argentina that sat loyally by the side of his deceased best friend’s grave for six years.
There’s Dindim, a South American Magellanic penguin that swims 8,000 kms every year to Brazil in order to visit the man who saved his life, 71-year-old fisherman Joao Pereira de Souza.
And countless tales detail how a pet has literally saved the life of their human companion.
We have pet spas, pet-specific funeral homes, pet portrait specialists, and full-on pet clothing lines and specialty cosmetics.
Despite all this, some believe that ‘pet moms’ have no right to label themselves as such - they’re not moms at all, but merely owners.
Those standing on the opposite side of that argument might say if you label yourself a pet ‘owner’, you’re doing it wrong - pets should be considered fully integrated and equally important family members.
For many, adopting a pet is the same as adopting a child, yet no one would call the parent of an adopted child an ‘owner.’
The relationships are equally delicate, providing unconditional love, but can also suffer irreversible damage due to conflict or betrayal.
Motherhood is indeed a remarkable and life-long commitment, and pet moms don’t wish to diminish this by any means - they’re just seeking some validation for their love and devotion.
In anticipation of Mother’s Day, we asked some of our readers on which side of the pet mom fence they sat.
“I wish pets were considered as important as children,” one reader wrote to us. “I feel that as a pet mom, I am just as responsible for the care and well being of my kitty as anyone else is for their tiny human. I ensure she has the most nutritious and healthy food. I have a ‘catio’ for her on the deck so that she can enjoy outside time, SAFELY. She has cat beds in almost every corner of the house and toys that I step on non-stop. I spend insane amounts of money on veterinary care to ensure she's at her best. I worry about her all day as if she's at kindergarten. When I see her little face in the window when I leave for work, it breaks my heart. So tell me, how is it different? It isn’t.”
“My dogs are like my children, and rely on me for all of their needs,” another said. “Even when I go on a trip and can’t bring my dogs, I go shopping for them before I shop for my human children. Some people can't or don't have human children, and have pets (whatever they may be) instead. They dress some in dresses or sweaters or costumes for every occasion and take oodles of photos just as you would a human child. When the day comes that your fur child passes away, you mourn just the same. I understand some people think ‘it's just a dog’, but to us ‘pet moms’ it's way more then that. I can't fathom nor understand the people who don’t have the ‘pet mom’ personality, but I know there are many out there.”
What’s your opinion of those that call themselves ‘pet moms’?
We invite you to discuss the topic in the comment section below, and we wish mothers to both humans and animals a very happy Mother’s Day.
