The term ‘pet parent’ squicks me out. I noticed that PetCo dropped that terminology from its advertisements, thank heavens.
‘Fur kids’ is equally as nauseating. :dead:
I am not my dog’s ‘mommy’. Do you know what that would make me? :winkgrin:
I OWN my animals. I see no reason to give myself any other name than owner. I love and care for them properly, but in no way do I think I’m their parent.
owner. any time i refer to someone’s grand-eggs or grand-cats -ahem- i’m joking. and i freely admit to going all woobie and baby talk to small cute critters. (although i generally hold adult conversations with horses…)
I’ll stick with owner. Although I do refer to each dog as the other ones “sister” (they’re not related), I do not refer to myself as their mom. This does not mean I love or care for them any less. “Pet Parent” and “Fur Baby” creep me out a bit, especially fur baby. It makes it seem like some freaky hair covered human infant or something.
I say owner, but it doesn’t bother me how others refer to me, or themselves…owner, mom, parent, guardian (never heard anyone use that term in real life).
I am my dogs’ person or owner. I am not their guardian or mother, but they are part of my family. My boyfriend seems to think he’s ‘dad’ to his dog. It seems weird to me, but whatever makes him happy.
[QUOTE=Curb Appeal;8176293]
I am an owner. I am a mom to my human children and I love them WAY more than I could ever love a critter. “Pet parent” makes my skin crawl.[/QUOTE]
This exactly how I feel^^^. Especially after losing a child. It isn’t the same grieving for a pet when it passes. Yes, there is a HUGE difference and it isn’t even close. They are pets and we own them. Yes, they are part of the family but just not the same
I’m so glad I’m not the only one that gets weirded out by the “mom/mommy” thing with pets…it irritates me to no end when people call me my pets mom in a serious fashion (ei. Inlaws dog sitting for us and calling us to tell us how much our dogs miss their mommy and daddy, even worse when they refer to the nugget (I’m in foal!) as the dog’s sister…say what?! No, just no no no…course I also get irritated when people call me mommy because of the baby, as in “How’s mommy doing today?” (normally said is sickening sweet baby talk voice while they stare at my stomach) If they do it repeatedly I’ve been known to respond with “Well gosh, I haven’t talked to your mom in while so I’m not sure”. Said with a big giant smile.
Dogs aren’t people, I love my dogs (and cats, fish, turtles, horses, ect) but they are not my children. That said, if it floats your boat I won’t say one word about it to you.
[QUOTE=red mares;8176206]
I worry about legal scope creep with people referring to themselves as guardians or even worse, parents, of pets. When some cutesy term becomes the common vernacular, some very shrewd people with an agenda will take advantage of it. Those people are already working that angle.
I find owner to be a very acceptable term for my relationship with my cats. I don’t find it cold, I find it realistic. I have no problem saying I own my cats, horse, dog or house.
Pets are not people.[/QUOTE]
This in spades.
I own my animals.
I can keep them, sell them, or put them down.
I am not obligated to go broke to pay for medical treatment for them.
I can leave them home alone for a while, provided their daily needs are being met.
My mother is guardian to my niece.
She will have to pay for education, housing, clothing and medical expenses.
Same as me and DH, having to cough up the dough for DS.
Turing animal owners into pet parents on a corporate level…yes, it irks me, it causes goods to be way overpriced, and sets the tone for people becoming insensed and offensive when one chooses not to spend thousands of dollars on medical treatment for geriatric animals.
The pet parent is creeping into everyday life, far removed from the cute abnormality.
Yes, I call myself ‘cat mom’ or bird mom’ in a joking fashion.
In the end I didn’t birth a cat or hatch an egg.
I also did not adopt the animals.
I paid money for them, or took them from another person who wanted to get rid of them (for whatever reason)
In private I sometimes will call the dog “my baby” when she cuddles her 70lb butt up in my lap, but that is about it. I am her owner, and she is a pet in public.
I have a son - a teenager. I don’t think pets count as kids as much as you can love and spoil them. You don’t have to send pets off to the first day of kindergarten or college, you don’t have to give them the sex talk (actually many progressively more embarrassing talks), or teach them to drive, then give them the keys and hope they are ok. You don’t have to worry about your pet getting married to the wrong person, or experiencing a broken heart.
I consider myself an “owner”.
I am currently referring to my horse as “Tripod” 
:lol:
Pet owner is the correct term, that’s what people who own pets are by definition. And yes, pets are property.
I don’t much care if people feel the term is inadequate, and want to refer to themselves as something else. That’s their right (although I am allergic to the term “furkids”).
What bothers me is those who decide that, because I refer to myself as an owner, I somehow love and care for my animals less than they do, since they choose term themselves “parents”. I remember some twit making that comment about me on COTH, which was hilarious. Yes, I prefer to stick with the actual terminology instead of the cutesy one; no, (general) your choice of an alternate term does not in fact make you a better owner.
Wow I wasn’t expecting this level of resoponse
[QUOTE=millerra;8176470]
My job as a human parent is to teach my human kids how to be good, kind, responsible, hard working adult humans. They are expected to leave home and to start their own families/households.
I have no such expectations of my pets or horses… they are my dear dear friends and partners and I expect to be responsible for their lives and well being until the end… suffice it to say, I’m sure my human kids would rather be my pets…[/QUOTE]
Actually the part in bold is what I strive for with my pets. Which I guess would mean if because of death or illness I can’t take care of them it would be easier for them to find homes
DEN MOTHER
: a female adult leader of a Cub Scout den; also : a person seen in the role of leader or protector of a group
That’s really how I feel about my pets. Though I would actually include caretaker in that
But I don’t feel insulted if someone cares to calls me an owner,
Cats and dogs are considered companion animals and as such there are things you can’t do with them that you can do with pure property. I can abandon my hairbrush but it’s against the law to abandon my cat.
Owner.
A lot of the other terms kinda make my skin crawl.
Furbaby being one of the worst :no:
[QUOTE=Paks;8177381]
Cats and dogs are considered companion animals and as such there are things you can’t do with them that you can do with pure property. I can abandon my hairbrush but it’s against the law to abandon my cat.[/QUOTE]
Actually, you can. Well, “surrender,” to a shelter.
That’s the legal way, at least. No one out in law enforcement is trying to track down the umpteenth actually-abandoned pet dog or cat that ends up running wild. (Heck, they’d probably make more of an attempt for non-companion animals like cows, because they’re large and not easy to just catch and dump at the nearest shelter, so there goes the companion animals are more special wrt abandonment theory).
You’re not allowed to abuse them, because hey, as a society at least we recognize that as wrong. But you can have them put down for your convenience (by lying to the vet if necessary) or because you can’t/don’t want to spend the money on medical treatment, you can leave it at a shelter, you can sell it, you can breed it and sell its offspring, you can even mistreat it within the rather lax limits of AC (such as keeping a dog on a chain in your yard for its entire life).
Still offended by the “pet” terminology.
They are your dog, your cat, your companion animal, or just your animal, but to me “pet” trivializes the relationship into something frivolous or childish.
I am very comfortable with “owner”. Just not “pet” “parent” fur kid" etc.
That is not to say they are not a huge part of my life, they are indeed family members, but animal family members.
And yes, sometimes their loss can be felt just as much as the loss of a human family member, particularly if that human does not live in the same household and interact on a daily basis.
When I use the term guardian, I’m thinking it’s more because I’m guarding my animals from others. My pets are my property. I own them free and clear. Pet parent and fur baby drives me crazy!
I own all my pets. I love them dearly, but they are not “fur kids.”
To everyone who considers their dog a “pet”…do you consider your horse a “pet”? Why, or why not?
well by the definition of the word pet from the Merriam Webster dictionary
Definition of PET
1
a : a pampered and usually spoiled child
b : a person who is treated with unusual kindness or consideration : darling
2
: a domesticated animal kept for pleasure rather than utility
Yes I do.
[QUOTE=Houndhill;8177530]
To everyone who considers their dog a “pet”…do you consider your horse a “pet”? Why, or why not?[/QUOTE]
I consider my dog & cats pets, because they are just here to be my pets. They are to be here for life. My horses have jobs to do and would be sold if I was offered enough money or if they were no longer suitable for me.
For me, with my dogs it’s more like a family relationship, and with the horses it’s more like a business relationship.
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