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.

[7flipper7]

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.

[Smallinthesmoke]

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.

[robbo86otm]

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

[jandoc]

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

[princesssmitheee]

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

[emmamed123]

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.

[spottypjs]

We always had pets growing up, started with a rabbit then had hamsters, guinea pigs, fish and eventually a dog. Our dog we found on the internet from a breeder, we only went to look but when we got there the puppies werent cared for properly so we just couldnt leave our little guy there, so we had to buy him.

[Lisacraig1981]

Our staff died of cancer! We decided to get another one as the kids were sad! There was 5 to choose from in the litter and there was one that sat on my knee so we took her and named her sky

[sammylea80]

We went to rescue 2 kittens, however when we arrived at the center and there were 3 in the cage we just couldn't leave one behind .. what's another mouth to feed!

[sofieellis]

My DH and our three boys spent years trying to persuade me to get a dog. I wanted one, but wasn't sure if the novelty would wear off quickly for the kids.

They eventually bombarded me with loads of internet pictures of cute puppies. Most of which I ignored (just about!), until they sent me some photos of Chorkie pups. I thought they were irresistible and we arranged to go and see them that weekend.

There were four little girls in the litter and, as we knelt on the floor, one of them stretched up and tried to touch DH's knee. That was it, we were in love. Three years later we are even more in love with her and the boys all help with feeding, walks etc much more than I expected them to - they simply can't resist her!

[emmamcmahon]

Hubby and I went to choose a kitten from a rescue centre. When we arrived there were only two left - Hubby wouldn't take one and leave the other alone, and I wouldn't leave without one. We ended up with both! Ronnie and Reggie. Ronnie later turned out to be a girl!!

[sarah861421]

we asked a 3 & a 4 yr old if they wanted a labrador puppy they looked at each other and said NO!

[saurus22]

We got our 2 Weimaraners when our son was 18 months old. We went to choose them from a litter and they slurped tea from our cups and stole a tissue I was holding. My son thought this was hilarious and there was no way we were leaving without the 2 naughty pups. They both absolutely doted on him. The photo shows him reading up on Wemaraners from the Weimaraner Handbook!

[SuburbanRhonda]

How lovely to hear all the stories of people getting their pets from rescues

Our guinea pigs have all been rescues, and all have loved to a ripe old age. Just got one left now, and she is adorable. A perfect pet for children (and 50-ish women!).

[sadiewoohoo]

We went to view a litter of pups at our local sanctuary.We knew we wanted a quiet dog to fit in with our chilled out lifestyle. There were 2 pups - one sitting quietly watching the world go by and the other running round like a lunatic. We were drawn to the quieter dog but he really didn't seem fussed about us at all. When we picked up the more energetic pup however he went wild and covered us in huge excited wet kisses. We decided there and then to take him. We always say he pulled out all the stops to make sure we took him home that day.

[buckley1983]

We really wanted a cat for ages & had been perusing photos on cat rescue sites - my friend came round one day when I was looking & said her friend had a cat she no longer wanted - she described her as black & fat! I fell in love with her immediately, but on her first night at home - the reason for her fatness became clear when she gave birth to 4 gorgeous kittens!! We still have her now & she is utterly lovely & so affectionate. We kept one of the kittens too - so glad she came to us in the way she did, it seems like destiny!

[HelenRemi411]

I have three young sons so I never thought I would let them have any pets but after my eldest whom has autism kept telling everyone we have fish I have let the two older ones have a fish each which they love we have one called finley and the other call chicken you got to love kids!!

[janemphoto]

Our cat chose us - well, chose our garden to live in. She was a stray, really scared of people, I saw her a few times in our garden under a small tree. It took me days of encouraging her with food before she came out and dared anywhere near the food. She was pregnant and we helped her when the kittens were born. Now she is sat on my lap feeling comfy.

[AutumnElla]

I'd wanted a cat for ages but was really undecided about whether to get one. One day I got in from work and my boyfriend surprised me with a rescue cat from a shelter. She was really feral when we first got her and lots of people had taken her back to the rescue centre. Even though we couldn't pet her or go near her otherwise she would attack us and lived behind the TV, only coming out to eat at night I knew she would have no chance if she was sent back to the rescue centre again so persevered. Over time she has gotten more sociable and friendly and is now a cat we can truly call our pet. Surprisingly she came out of her shell the most when we had kids. I think she thinks they're her kids and we're just the nannies.

[lphillips25]

we are a little on the impulsive side when choosing pets, out latest buy was a tortoise who has been a lot harder work then we expected, we were given a lot of incorrect advice when we got him but now after 6 months we think we have got it right!

[vikaroo]

We decided 6 months into buying our first house, that we wanted 2 cats. I looked at Ads on a well known pet selling website but most of them were special breeds. So I did the reverse and placed an ad looking for 2 kittens and explained a bit about who we were. I was inundated with calls from people who had kittens, but one lady contacted us to tell us that her cat was pregnant and would be due to have kittens in a few weeks. We agreed before even seeing the kittens that we would have 2 of them when they were 8 weeks old. The seller kept us updated with photos of her cat and as soon as they were born she kept in touch sending us photos etc. 8 Weeks later she agreed to come to our house (50 miles away) with the kittens so she could view our home and surroundings. Our cats are now nearly 2 years old and love their little home in the countryside, where they have lots of fields to explore and lots of wildlife to hunt!

[emmafifema78]

We got our dog Rolo 9 years ago when he was only 3 months old, the lady we got him from was absolutely desperate to rehome him but extremely upset as she had two very young children one of whom was only around 3 years old....but when we got there (travelled almost 4 hours in the car) it became obvious why he needed to be rehomed! The kids were firing spud guns at him and dragging him round by his ears, they just thought he was a play thing and did not know how to treat him properly at all - it was very sad and distressing to see it all and we imediately made the decision to take him, she was so relieved but in tears also.
We've had him ever since and he has been loved as one of the children, one of the family! He's still as playful now as he was the day we got him too!

[LizB62A]

Our current "pet" picked us - I spotted this timid little cat eating the food I'd put out for the robins. Now we have a little cat house in the garden, a food and water dish on the patio and a still very timid little cat who meows at me, eats the food and is gradually letting me get closer.
We've been planning to get a cat for ages (our previous cat died when my son was 2) so if this one eventually trusts us enough to come inside, it will be our pet. If not we'll just look after it as a timid outside cat.

[Spencer1234]

We previously had a rescue dog, who was a handful but we loved him to bits. When he passed away my son was only 2 & there was no way I was going to let my son grow up without a dog. My husband and I had always grown up with Labradors but I thought our house would be too small and I wouldn't be able to walk a lab the distance needed with a 2 year old. We considered all the options and decided that a lab cross would be the best idea for us. We looked into all the lab crosses & a miniature labradoodle seemed perfect for us! Not too big, but still a decent size. A crazy, active personality to match our son as he gets older. We traveled hundreds of miles to view a litter of puppies born in a lovely family home where the parents were the family pets & a young family were bringing these lovely well cared for puppies into the world. Straight away my husband and I fell in love with the one golden puppy standing out from all the other chocolate colour pups.

Three and a half years later & she really is the perfect dog! My son & dog adore each other, they are best friends & she is such a joy in our home.

[Kjb920]

Dh and I have literally spent years debating what breed of dog would suit us - he likes terriers, I like hounds. Only dog like we had in common was a greyhound but we'd have needed to buy a bigger car to fit it in, along with 3 children, so that seemed a bit extreme! One sad day, our most beloved young cat was killed, so DH gave in and we had a free rein in dog stakes - a dachshund it must be!
Found a Facebook page - Dachshunds in London, and posted a message asking if anyone knew of any dogs needing rescue or rehoming. Within 2 minutes, I was put in touch with an owner in
Somerset who was suddenly travelling. A lot and feeling that was unfair to his dogs, so I zipped down there and a couple of weeks later, not one, but two wire haired standard dachshunds joined our family (mother and son, Girl and Pod).