Children and pets

I remember when I was younger, dressing up the family cat and putting in a doll stroller for a walk down the hallway. Of course parents and adults thought it was either cute or cruel depending on their attitudes towards cats in general. I had no idea that some people grew up and are now selling clothing for pets, especially dogs. That is now a huge industry, pet clothing.

Another thing I use to do is feed sparrows and other small wild birds with bird seed in a bird feeder hanging outside my window. In fact most of the time I spent growing up was not owning a pet because I grew up in small apartments. My childhood was filled with pets that I could not interact with such as goldfish. We had a hamster once that my school was giving away because he was old. I had him for 2 years before he died of old age.

I am a strong believer in children having the opportunity to have a pet that they can touch care for and interact with. That leaves out many small pets such as fish, hermit crabs, snakes and other animals that do not readily show their emotions other than fear and aggression.