From the time I was born to today, I have always had a dog as a pet. Growing up, I dearly loved our dog, Dutchess and was content to have her as our one and only family pet. However, my sister, five years my junior and still the more adventurous one, was not as content and mixed things up a bit with our family pet scene. My sister has always loved animals and grew up wanting to be a vet, therefore, when she requested different animals as pets, my parents were happy to oblige. The events that ensued with each new animal created great times and memories for each of us.

My sister’s first pet request came around age five and was a pretty basic appeal which many kids make at one time or another – to have a goldfish. The goldfish was housed on our kitchen counter and although it may have endured a few over-feedings, miraculously it survived for many goldfish years. The fish gave my sister and me our first opportunity to directly care for and nurture something other than ourselves (since my parents mainly took care of our family dog). It was a fun experience that also gave us the chance to experience our first lesson in loss when we woke up for school one morning and the family fish was floating on its side and unresponsive to our pokes and prods. After a proper burial in a matchbox placed in the front yard, my sister was ready to find a new pet.

Her next request was for a few hermit crabs. These little guys were fun and engaging and we spent hours playing with them, watching them skitter across the carpet and quickly retract back into their shells. Their prehistoric look didn’t exactly make them cute and cuddly but everyone in the family enjoyed them. When my sister was around ten-years old, she requested a pair of gerbils as pets. This request was treated a bit differently than the former inquiries about pets. Before acquiescing, my parents took time to explain to my sister that gerbils require a lot of care and attention and must be treated and held gently. I was extremely impressed with how my sister cared for her gerbils. She was very responsible about their care, feeding and cleaning their cage. However, despite her best efforts, they kept escaping! Most times they would turn up in her sock or underwear drawers but one day they never turned up and must have found a way to the great outdoors.

As an adult looking back on this experience, I am most impressed how my mom, a very clean person, handled small, rodent-like creatures living in her house and sometimes on the loose in her house! Following the gerbils, my family had our one and only experience with a pet cat. A friend of my mom’s was giving away kittens and my sister fell in love with one. Arthur was a cute and loveable cat but he definitely had a need to explore. He always found a way to escape outside and would not return for days at a time, despite our best effort to make him feel at home. One day Arthur did not come home. We were sad for a few days but we reassured by my parents that he had found a good family to take care of him.

As an adult, I am so glad my sister convinced my parents to let her try new pets. To this day, my family has many fond memories, stories and laughs to share about our domestic pet adventures. In retrospect, it seems we all learned lessons about not only caring, feeding and nurturing but also about patience and flexibility. As the parent of a two-year old, I am bracing myself for what my future holds when my son outgrows his fascination with our two dogs. I am glad I have a few experiences under my belt from my childhood to help me prepare for what may lie ahead!

By Kirsten Goulet