No Pets for Us . . . Just Babies!

Ever since I was little I've failed to create an affinity towards animals. I think it may have started with my parents' dog Spanky, a Brittany Spaniel. 

Now Spanky ruled the house before I got there, and I don't have any early memories of him, but I recall my mom telling me that he pushed me over with his paw when I started walking. In my little baby brain this probably subconsciously started me off on the track of not liking animals. My parents ended up getting rid of Spanky when we moved to Connecticut when I was 3.


When I got to first grade a classmate of mine brought in her pet bird for show and tell. I still had a relatively open mind regarding animals and when she asked if I'd like to hold the bird on my arm, I gladly said, "Yes!" With the little birdy perched on my arm, I looked up to smile at my friend then felt something warm suddenly on my arm. I looked down and saw poo, the color and consistency of Jiffy cornbread batter! I was utterly grossed out and proceeded to check "birds" off my child mind list of pets I could tolerate.


Next, when I was 11, we went on the annual sixth grade trip to Marmon Valley Farm. This is one of the fondest memory of my childhood! We had a real farm experience and it felt SO far away from home. My dad even came too as a chaperone for the boys and returned in later years with my siblings' sixth grade classes.

As one of our activities we went on a horseback trail ride. I had never been on a horse before, but since it wasn't on my list of bad animal experiences, I hadn't built up a resistance yet. The day of the horseback ride arrived and we got to pick out the horse we wanted to ride. Now, I don't remember exactly what my horse looked like (I think I was just excited to get on any horse!). What I do remember is falling off the horse as we proceeded to climb a hill and I rolled down it. Now it didn't hurt too bad and it wasn't because the horse bucked me off. Instead, the conniving horse had bloated it's belly to resist the saddle and when it release the air, the saddle slid and I fell off. So much for horses!

Now what about cats you may ask?

Something about cats just strikes me as sly and evil. In the times that I've been around them I just feel like they have something up their sleeves. And it doesn't help that Uka often breaks out in hives when we're around them. Also, just the thought of changing a litter box grosses me out. Now I know some people have taught their cats to use the toilet but please! I don't want to share my toilet with an animal!

Overall, my philosophy is that animals look best in pictures, especially on sites like Cute Overlaod and not around me. The smells, the fur, the maintenance. . . UGHHH!

What about companionship you ask? I have a husband, soon a baby and tons of family and friends for that. Besides, it's just a pain to have to find a pet sitter or travel with the animal.

For now it's just babies for us! (We'll have to see what happens when the kids ask for pets . . .)