Tell us your stories about choosing a pet for a chance to win a £100 voucher for a pet shop of your choice

when I was little we had a cat and then a dog. so it seemed natural to have the same.
ive had cats and dogs. our last cat died last year at the grand age of 17 years. I am on my 2nd dog, shes 3.
I think its good for children to be brought up around pets.
Heres our Sally when she was a few months old.

we was going to get a rabbit, but way too much maintenance. so settled for a fish lol

I'm in the middle of deciding whether to get a puppy or not!

It is a well know fact that you don't choose an animal, an animal chooses you

I was never allowed a pet as a child but when I turned forty thought "sod it!" and bought two gerbils "for the DDs" (but really for me ). I spent forever researching them and then drove for miles and miles to buy them from a breeder.
We are completely besotted. I had no idea that two rodents would bring such happiness into our lives! The only thing is that we slightly underestimated how big the pups would grow so they are starting to look a bit confined in their tank. If we were lucky enough to win this competition I would rush straight out to buy them a bigger tank which will fit even more loo rolls for the little fellas to destroy.

We bought our pup 2 years ago. We wanted a dog that would be good with children, happy to be left on his own for a while and mix with other dogs. We had wanted to rehome one but after visiting a local pound we found that although they were gorgeous dogs they did not fit our criteria. We spoke with our extended family as we both work and wanted to be sure if we had a pup they could look after him during the day so he was not left on his own. My parents agreed (having already got 2 themselves). We found a local trusted golden retreiver breeder and went to visit with the kids. My parents choose one (Larry) and we choose another - however we did not tell the kids and surprised them on easter sunday with it!!!! Obie now visits his brother everyday to day play whilst we are at work and at weekend we all go on lots of long muddy walks which both the dogs and kids love!! Can't believe how quickly they fit into the family and couldn't imagine life without him.

We didn't choose a pet, she chose us. Our cat appeared in the garden one day and had no identity so she stayed. A happy day for us all. I think if we had gone to choose it would have been too difficult

We found our old mongrel dog at a rescue centre - he'd been found abandoned on an A road and bought in.
We named him Hobo.
He was awesome. Apart from the time we accidentally left the fridge door open and he ate everything he could reach except the skin from the bananas. Or the time he escaped and was in the pub across the road eating the pudding off their pudding trolley...

We are currently in the process of looking for a rescue cat and just waiting to find one that we can help...and that can help us. My son struggles with understanding emotion and it's been said to us that a pet might help. I have health issues meaning a dog wouldn't be suitable but a cat who can come in and out of their own accord would work for us.

I've been desperate for a cat for years. One Christmas my DH surprised me with a kitten. She's the most loving little cat ever.

Last year, the nagging started for a dog. Argh. I like dogs and have owned them before but I had my reservations. After researching breeds we plumped for a Labrador as that particular breed seemed to suit our family/lifestyle.

We didn't choose our dog as such, she was matched with our family and it was love at first sight. After passing a home check we waited five months before the rescue centre found a sight hound that would suit us. We went to meet her and we all immediately fell in love with her. She was so gentle with all three of my dc immediately and was nuzzling us for more attention so we came back the next day and brought her home. She fitted in perfectly and we've had no behavioural issues or needed training at all. Simply perfect!

She had been overlooked for such a long time as she was an older dog (only 5 though) and jet black with a white beard... Apparently black pets are the hardest to rehome but this worked in our favour!

My daughter has an incurable nerve condition that causes her extreme pain every day. It was really affecting her, she was sad and was just sitting on the settee because it hurt her to much too move. To try and help I got her a newfoundland puppy as a surprise. It was love at first sight between them. Jessica was in charge of training, which got her of the settee and playing. Because the puppy grows so big you have to increase her walks slowly. This meant Jess could increase her walking too starting from just 10 minutes a day. Tayton saved my daughter, she got her moving and off the settee. That was a year and a half ago. 7 months ago we rescued a 6 year old newfoundland. It was totally unplanned. We got a phone call explaining there was an abused, untrained newfoundland who needed a home. We went to see her and she just wanted to cuddle my daughter, she wouldn't leave her alone. So Nessa came home with us, lots of training and love later and she's an amazing dog who cannot get enough love. Our shitzu is still boss haha. Love all of my girls so much xx

Having lost our beloved Exotic Shorthair cat we decided after a few years to get another cat and started looking at cat rescue homes etc. Sadly, the young cats we saw there were not in the best of health and at approximately £90 did not seem value for money. This sounds harsh, but we did not want to take on a cat needing a lot of veterinary treatment. I eventually found online a cat breeder who wanted to re-home a 3-year old Blue Tabby who was no longer able to have kittens - we got her for £50 (litter tray incuded!) and it was lovely to see her roaming in the garden after being kept in a large cage for most of her life. A bargain!

Last year we decided to get a dog and so contacted a breeder. The breeder sent over lots of pictures of the litter and in each picture I chose which puppy I liked (we didn't know it at the time, but I was actually choosing the same puppy in each picture. They all looked the same to me so I had no idea!)
When we went to the breeder's place to choose a puppy from the litter, we decided to hang back and see if there was a puppy that came up to us all and seemed comfortable with each of us. There was only one puppy that did this... the same puppy that I'd chosen in all of the pictures! It must have been fate.

I was never allowed a dog because my mam had allergies even though I asked for one all the time. We ended up with parrots instead!

We got our little Pug Ollie 6 years ago, We searched around for good breeders and one that had good reviews. We picked Ollie up from Milten Keynes he was the pick of the litter and has been the most amazing little dog, He really is our best friend and my 20 month old adores him.

He has gone on to win Rosette after Rosette and loves all the attention he gets.
So pleased we got Ollie and our life would not be the same without him. We are very blessed x

I have a cat which was given to me by my ex so it wasn't chosen by me, but when I was a kid we got a golden labrador and I remember going to the breeders house and there were loads of black and golden labradors and Sandy was the one we chose because she was all sleepy and cute, the other dogs were yapping around us but she just slept through it all and it made us laugh, she soon found her boisterous side once she got back to ours though, as demonstrated by her tearing up the kitchen flooring when left on her own as a puppy!

well, we love our pets and over the years we have had lots of little souls! I learnt the hard way to only buy one sex of animal when we had Zebra Finch's - got them little whicker baskets to sleep in at night in the aviary and ended up with loads of them! Over the years we have had many rescue cats, and I loved every single one of them and they all got special treats. We have been blessed with cats, rabbits, birds, fish and a huge house spider called Bob. I think we all think we choose our pets, but I think that there is a kind of destiny for them to end up with you!

When looking for a cat we decided we really wanted a rescue rather than a more in-demand kitten and after lots of looking we decided to go and look at the last cat that a local branch of Cat's Protection had available (they were due to close). We went to see him and he was terrified of us all. He hid for the entire viewing, but we really felt that he could be the one for us and arranged to adopt him.

The first week was shaky, he was scared of everything. He continued to hide and didn't want to come near us, but gradually he came out of his shell and has now turned into the nicest, most loving cat that we could have hoped for. He is such an asset to our family and I am so glad that we could offer him a safe and loving forever home.

Mine are the cheeky twins Biscuit and Honey, brother and sister. We were originally only going to take one kitten (Biscuit) but when we met them, they were so cute cuddled up together, we couldn't separate them. They are now inseparable, getting up to plenty of mischief together. Honey had an accident and lost one of her back legs, Biscuit it like the protective brother, licking her and giving her kisses. I'm so glad we decided to take them both home, I wouldn't be without them now!

We decided to get a cat for our family as we have always had cats. We took our little boy with us to choose one, and naturally he chose the most boisterous one of the litter! We named him Binx and he is great addition to our family. Xo

It's difficult getting a pet when you have kids, because you need one with the right temperament, but you also need to make sure that your little one knows the signs of them getting upset with the attention. We decided to get a dog and she's lovely very laid back but super excited on walks which is great when out and about with the kids, we had to teach them that when she's asleep for she starts licking her lips (a sign of stress) to leave her alone. They so far are great together

When we went to choose our Alaskan Malamute we were introduced to the litter and asked which one we would like. They were all so gorgeous it was impossible to choose. Then when the lady went to put their food out they all run off except one who stayed by us, he chose us :)

i went to buy our second puppy and when i got in the house the breeder let all of the puppies out and of course i wanted them all, they all ran over, and one pee'd on my foot so i asked which one it was and he was the one i took home

We have a pond full of koi carp that have become quite tame & we all love to watch them glide around as it is so relaxing. Easy to look after & not a problem to leave when going out etc.