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

[TinaMumsnet]

Should we get a pet? What pet should we get?! Is your family desperate for a pet? Or do you already have one?

Choosing a pet can be exciting, impossible, heart-warming and heart-breaking – sometimes all at once!

We'd love to hear your stories about choosing a pet so share them with us (with photos if you can) for a chance to win a copy of What Pet Should I Get? by Dr. Seuss plus a £100 voucher from a pet shop of your choice.

It's the literary equivalent of buried treasure: a brand new, never-before-seen rhyming romp of a picture book from the legendary Dr.Seuss! It's the story of a classic childhood moment: a brother and sister visiting a pet shop to pick a pet, but neither being able to decide which one to go for. Every pet looks like fun, so how in the world do you just pick one?!


'There are moments of genius on every page' - The Telegraph

This discussion is sponsored by Harper Collins Children's Books and will close on 14 March.

[BellaWella86]

As is typical with cats, we didn't choose her... she chose us! We'd just moved to our new house and found her miowing at our window every evening. Eventually we let her in, thinking she belonged to someone else. Each day, it got harder to get her back out to return to her home until Fireworks Night when she was still there trying to get in. We figured she must be a stray and she's been with us ever since.

[gaylemcfedries]

We got simba in Sept he was the runt of the litter I haver to admit hes my little ginger ninja he attacks us from nowhere

[lhlee62]

We got some fish as both myself and my husband work long hours and it wouldn't be fair on a cat or dog. My FIL got my daughter some goldfish without checking with the pet shop if the tank was big enough, they died within a week or so!! We got some other fish which fingers crossed for lasted for over 4 mths, we will think about getting a dog when the girls are older and people are home more often.

[olivia280177]

My little boy (now 14) and I managed to buy a 50% shared ownership house and as it was a brand new home we decided to get a pet (after we checked it was ok!) We decided on cats and a lady at work had just had a kitten and had told us there were 2 left in the litter so we had those, 2 sisters. They came to live with us and soon after I met a man and he moved in, and soon after that I was expecting so we moved to a bigger house! The cats love it here as we have lots of hiding places in the garden. We have 3 children now, and the same 2 cats - they are 8 years old and love the fuss from the kids.

[melvis]

I didn't really choose my pets ... my eldest dog (now 13) was 5 years old and his owner, who I knew from my local pub was between addresses and couldn't find anywhere to stay with his dog. My OH offered to look after the dog for a few weeks until his owner found new accommodation. Not long after that, his owner died and we ended up keeping him as he was already part of the family.

A friend of mine had two cocker spaniels, with the intent of breeding but they got "caught short" and the female spaniel had puppies far younger than they intended. Two of the puppies died, one had a home arranged pre-birth leaving her with just one pup. She hoped to keep the pup but the Father dog was vicious towards her so my friend asked if we'd take her. Seven year later, it was one of the best decisions I ever made - she's as gorgeous now as she was when she came home at 11 weeks old.

[cherylann2461]

Carlos is our little Romanian rescue dog. He was found being stoned to death by a group of people in Romania and was rushed straight to the vets who saved his life. We adopted him and it took us six months to win his trust and get him to wag his little tail. He is now fully adjusted to life in the UK and happy and trusting.

[pennwood]

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.

[lailasmummy13]

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

[allsorts4444]

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 :)

[Kangakate]

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

[Pinktilgate]

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

[Rachdayan]

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!

[littleme96]

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.

[beeelaine]

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!

[pfcpompeysarah]

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!

[shivbrown]

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

[angiehoggett]

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!

[CK12232]

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.

[hedera45]

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!

[Jocelynne123]

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

[Bouncearound]

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!

[gBean]

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.

[vixxx666]

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.

[rachcompacc0]

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...

[Nettie17]

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