When Heather Dubuque moved home to Nashville from Boston to start her own company, she quickly realized that she was no longer her mother’s favorite.
“My mother adopted an amazing dog from our local Humane Society. He is part Portuguese Water Dog and part ‘real boy.'”
Heather, owner of The Lillian Nanny Agency, quickly realized what her mom’s dog already knew: Heather was no longer Mom’s favorite. Her mother and Oreo, or “O” for short, had formed a bond in the five years since the adoption. Oreo gets prime real estate on all of Mom’s feather down furniture. He fights to get the front seat when Heather comes along for car rides.
“He’s also been known to get up from whatever comfortable spot he’s lying in to run past me down the hallway if he thinks I’m going to talk to Mom,” said Heather.
Heather’s mom feels the same way about Oreo. According to Heather, one day her mom was cutting pieces of cheese in the kitchen. “I came up and took one, only to have her slap my hand and tell me that they were for the dog!” (Side Note: Cheese may not be the best treat for all dogs. Make sure you research any new treat you wish to feed your pets.)
Oreo is also fed steak, gets special collars to match special occasions, and sports costumes for Halloween. Yes, it seems that after Heather moved away from home, her mom found a new outlet for her motherly impulses in the form of a dog. Heather thinks it’s great. Although she enjoys playfully teasing her mother about treating an animal as good as, if not better than, her own child, she is glad that her mother has a wonderful companion that makes her so happy.
Although sometimes difficult for non-pet owners to understand, living with pets offers many of the same joys, heartaches, lessons, and emotions as parenthood. Like children, pets are dependent. They force humans to leave selfish behaviors behind. As much as you might want to sleep all day or stay out all night, you know that there’s a helpless soul waiting to be let outside and fed. If you go on vacation, you need to make sure they are taken care of.
Like children, you worry about their health and happiness. Any caretaker knows the sense of guilt and responsibility that hangs overhead when you surprise them with a tasty new treat and their eyes light up with joy, only to have them suffer with diarrhea the next day.
- Jennifer and her two “kids.”
Pet ownership does offer a sense of parenthood, even for some who never felt the need to become a parent, or weren’t able to.
Jennifer Lowe-Pappas of Scranton, Pennsylvania never wanted to have children.
“I do have a motherly instinct. There are children in my life that I love as if they were my own; however, I still lack the desire.”
Instead, she has two dogs.
“My life IS my dogs. They are my family,” says Jennifer. “I am responsible for their health, happiness, and general well-being. Much like infants, they are helpless.”
She so appreciates the joy that her dogs bring her — a feeling of unconditional love and acceptance — that she returns the favor by doing all she can for them.
“The best food, treats, a basket full of toys and of course, the celebration of birthdays and holidays. I celebrate birthdays, their adoption days (I call them ‘gotcha’ days), and Christmas. Birthdays are complete with a piece of filet mignon & vanilla ice cream cake.”
Jennifer’s life was already full before her dogs, but they make a wonderful addition. She has a wonderful husband who loves the dogs as much as she does. Her family is also supportive – the dogs are welcome to travel with Jennifer and her husband to family dinners and holiday celebrations.
Jennifer and Heather’s mom have both sacrificed for those they love, whether they be human or animal. Love is a feeling and an action that is not defined by DNA. They are mothers because they choose to be, every day.
Moms take pride in having a happy, healthy family. Let’s remember pet moms as well as kid moms on Mother’s Day. Letting a mom know she has done a great job in all she has done, either for a child or a pet, will not go unappreciated.
“I feel that having an animal is a gift from heaven,” said Jennifer. “I wish for everyone they could feel what I feel with my dogs; it is bliss.”
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I am laughing and relating to this wonderful post! There was never a ballet recital, a school play, or a first date, but for 19 years, Buttons was my adopted daughter. She was there for me when my fiance announced he was ending our relationship. I was there for her when she was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 8. Yes, I was a pet parent. I was never comfortable saying I owned my dog, but she sure as heck owned me- heart, soul, and collar :).
Nadine M. Rosin/author, speaker, holistic pet care advocate
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What a heartwarming read! My husband and I are proud pet parents to our three cats. How many times we are chatting with family/friends, and someone tells a story about one of their human kids, and we find ourselves saying, “….oh yes, that happened to our cat Lulu, and……” Of course everyone who knows us is used to this by now! Or when meeting someone new in our neighborhood, and they ask, “How many do you have?” (meaning kids) and our response is, “Three. Cats. We hope to have more someday…possibly a dog or two.” Definitely not the answer they were expecting! Here’s to all the pet parents out there, who are blessed with experiencing the unconditional love our pets give us each and every day. And a Happy Mother’s Day to the pet moms, too! (As the owner of a pet greeting card company, I obviously whole-heartedly agree that these pet moms deserve cards on Mother’s day!)
Laura Kuhlmann, Owner/Designer, Pet Scribbles LLC
Thanks for the great post!
We have 5 boys, and only one of them has 2 legs!
This is a great post, I can so relate. Its very important that people read this and remember that pets ARE like children, they need us and depend on us.
That was a great article to read…. It just goes to show that the love for an animal is as great as a love for a child. To all you Moms and Animal Moms….. Have A Happy Mothers Day….
I totally agree with the article and everyone that commented. I said something yesterday and my mom said that ‘being a mom to a dog doesn’t count.’ I think it does, i don’t have children of my own but i do have my dog. And it’s kind of sad that we don’t get anything for Mothers Day….