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.

[kaycm25]

We went to the pet shop to choose 2 guinea pigs. My eldest daughter picked hers straight away but my youngest who was 2 at the time found it harder to pick but managed to choose with help from her sister. We now have Mickey and Donald living with us and squeaking every time the fridge opens.

[toodles60]

I have two cats both around 7 years old. Both chosen the same way. I picked the runt of the litter each time. The smallest and one who was obviously being pushed out by the others. Tugs on my heartstrings every time :)

[mattymc13]

Firstly, I don't believe anybody should be buying cars or dogs from breeders. The world has a horrific problem with abandoned domesticated dogs or cats and the chances are they will never be loved again and end up being euthanised. My cat, Butcher, we picked up from a rescue centre in 1998 as a kitten. The intention was to get a dog but he looked at me with such charm in his eyes and I knew I had to get him. He's still with his today, 18 years later! There's less charm about him these days, obviously. He is scraggy, malting, falling to pieces and can barely see, but I still love him just as much and my heart will be well and truly broken when he's goes!

[glmcall123]

We've had lots of different pets and they've all become part of the family. It's lovely to let a child choose there own pet but it's best to do your homework so that everybody knows how to care for them properly.

[cluckyhen]

For us we had recently lost our beloved cat so we turned to Cat's Protection. 2 gorgeous boys were looking for rehoming and we decided to surprise thekids by going to visit them just before Xmas! Our bundles of fluff are full of mischief.....and our lost cat turned up at the door 10 minutes after we got them home

[ddraig123]

No contest - get a dog! Sit near the litter and see which one comes to you. My favourites are yellow Labradors - affectionate, loyal and great with kids. They also love to party as you can see!

[laurapotz]

We have just adopted a new cat from the RSPCA. She is a lovely black and white 3 year old girl. We are hoping that she will get along well with our other cat but the first meeting didn't go well as he chased her (even though he actually likes other cats). Fortunately he seems to have got used to her now, so now we just need to get her used to him - ho hum!

[lindseystuart85]

We have two cats in our home Molly age 8 and Ivy age 1
Molly is a grumpy cat but she's awesome company when the little ones are not around!
Ivy is so much fun! she is terribly hyper and likes to run riot through the night! I have never ever known of a cat to be so high!
She is fascinated with plastic bags! she likes to sleep in them
A voucher would definitely go towards a bed :)

[starsailing888]

We went to the pet shop and observed the budgies for almost an hour before choosing our one. We opted for the quietest one there, and of course he's now the noisiest, most curious and nosy budgie ever - and we wouldn't have it any other way!

[chicgeekdiary]

We took in our cat off the streets, turned out she was pregnant and had 5 kittens shortly after. My Mum decided to keep all the kittens and the Mummy cat ended up leaving!! So we were left with 5 kittens. 7 years later and I have one of those kittens, Ted and he's my 2 year old's best friend.

[keshimonster]

I went to Pets at Home and chose a gorgeous bunny. I wanted a girl and I called her Princess. She had a pink bowl and pink accessories. She went for her vaccines a few weeks later. A nurse said she wanted a second opinion and took her into the back room. I was really worried. Eventually she brought Princess back out to me and said "I'm so sorry...Princess has a penis".
So we changed his name to Gabriel! He is lush!

[mrshumphreyjr]

We chose our current cat from a re homing centre. Never regretted it, as he is now such a happy cat, after previously been ill treated. Teaches our family to realise the benefits too of not getting a kitten when there are so many cats desperate for a loving forever home.

[slbhill42]

We recently rehomed a cat from Cats Protection. While we already had a cat, she wasn't willing to be friends with our little boy so we decided to get another cat in the hope it would get on with both the existing cat and the existing child (a bit of a gamble I must admit). I phoned the shelter and they said that's fine, come any time, we always have plenty of cats. So we turned up on the Sunday afternoon - to find that for the first time in MORE THAN TEN YEARS they had no cats left! You've got to laugh. (And we did go back a little later and found this playful little soul)

[Tjsmum123]

My son has allergies to cats and dogs so we decided we would get a rabbit, as I could be housed outside and wouldn't set us off sneezing. We saw and advert for bluebell our Netherlands dwarf rabbit in the paper and fell in love with her. She's blue in colour and has blue eyes to match. She's fit in nicely with our family and is cheeky and mischievous! We could do with a new hutch for her this year so the win would come in very handy. Meet our Netherland dwarf Bluebell...

[lottiegirl]

We told our two boys that we were about to go and get a cat. They both burst into tears. 'I wanted a puppy' said one. 'I wanted a Lily Quench book' said the other! Its 11 years later now and they both love the cat - so happy ending!

[roseannascott89]

my mum and sister decided to get a cat and we went to pick up this one they had chosen. when we got there there were two kittens left. The one they had already picked and another little one. the owner said he was the runt and the last one. well we couldnt leave him. best decision in the world, both were the cutest when playing and they still sleep curled up together

[daisyduke66]

We have two Jack Russell's and my children were very much involved in the decision to have both. It's an exciting and incredibly rewarding experience - getting your pet! I think as result the children are so much more involved with them as part of our family. Our two Jacks also totally love each other! -as you can see!!

[windowmouse]

My cats chose me. They were the most friendly at the rescue centre and I just had to take them home.

[clarabella12]

our first family dog passed away at the beginning of last year and all our kids where heartbroken, we where going a big family holiday in June so decided not to look for another until then. I had contacted all of the rehoming centres but as a we had children under 5 they wouldn't recommend anything other than a puppy and never had any needing rehomed so I looked on gumtree and fell in love with a beautiful little guy who needed a new home as his owner had started working and he was only 4 months old! I showed the picture to my mum who automatically said I know that dog! turned out the owner stayed right around the corner from me and my youngest went to nursery and was really close with her son! It seemed like fate and I'm so glad he came into our lives.

[jamielmdjs]

our neighbour's cat had kittens so that made it easier to get access to a kitten when the little one's decided they wanted a pet. we went round and they got to see them all. as much as they'd have loved to take them all home - the little black and white one that also had ginger on it stood out for them and Leo came home with us.

[nonnyno]

Had just taken over our farm, and went to look at pigs at a neighbouring farm. The couple there had a litter of new Labrador pups. We bought one of the pups,she grew into a lovely dog and the couple became lifelong friends.

[embabes7]

We got a dog before our son was born, but knowing we were going to start a family, we researched the most suitable and had a bichon frise and we love him :)

[cathyov]

I do believe that a pet chooses you!
The semi wild cat on the farm had had three kittens and we decided to have one to join our young family. The girls wanted the black and white one but it was the all black one that let us catch him and joined us and became a well pampered cat!

[chrismse]

We have a tortoise called Puddles who is a few years old now. He is well loved by the children and seems to have grown a fair in the few years.

[grannybiker]

We've been thinking of adopting a dog again as we miss our old lurcher, (And we need a bit of motivation to get walking the woods again!)
However, we do a lot of biking and go to a few rallies each year, which we can't take a dog to.
Our daughter has been living in Cyprus where she volunteers at an animal rescue centre when this poor chap came in with a broken leg having been thrown from a moving car :O :(
We saw him and his big brown eyes on a post she shared on Facebook, but it wasn't until she came back last month for a visit and said they were going to be fostering him so he could with her dogs. They were really struggling to find a forever home for him.... Also, they were being posted back to the UK at Easter so would be available for dog sitting....
Yep, he'll be flying over with her dogs to become our pet, tho' I guess he'll really enjoy holidays with his old pals!