Mumsnet users share how their pet is part of the family with Animal Friends Insurance

[EllieMumsnet]

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Whether you have a dog, a cat, a parrot, a guinea pig or even a tortoise, it’s safe to say that they are more than just pets. From being your side through new chapters in your life to growing up with your children and even acting as surrogate children to some, pets are a integral member of many families. That’s why Animal Friends Insurance would like to know how your pet is a member of your family.

Here’s what Animal Friends Insurance has to say: "With almost no effort at all, pets manage to bring so much joy into our lives. They make us laugh, comfort us when we’re sick or upset, and are always there for us no matter what. It’s no wonder that an estimated 12 million British households choose to keep a pet. We’ve compiled some free, downloadable guides here about pets and their development which you may find useful. As new members of our families they make fantastic companions. How has your pet benefitted your life?"

Watch this video here:

Has your pet been there through milestones in your life? If so which ones? Do you celebrate your pet’s birthday every year? Perhaps he/she has their own special spot on the sofa or even on your bed? What about when it comes to holidays? Do you ensure your destination is pet friendly too so they can come along? Or maybe you are thorough in ensuring they have regular vet and/or grooming appointments?

No matter how your pet is part of the family, post it on the thread below and everyone who posts will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw.
MNHQ

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I wanted a dog 🐕 when I was growing up but my father wouldn't let me as he didn't want to end up doing the work. Fair enough in retrospect.
So when I had two children we went and chose a dog from the dogs home.
She had been poorly treated and when we got her home she had fleas, ear mites and worms. As she was my first dog I was horrified when I took her to the vets to be checked out.
However the vet was very sympathetic and because she was a rescue dog they only charged me a part fee for the consultations. The ear mites took months to get rid of.
Despite all that she really is the most beautiful dog.
Shortly after getting her I became pregnant with my third.
She was amazing with all 3 children.
I am so pleased my children have had the opportunity to grow up with this beautiful dog, an opportunity I never had.
We have had her 8 years and we think she is around 10 years old.
I am not one for dogs in the lounge or the bedrooms, and she normally sleeps in the vestibule. However, recently we have the log burner on in our kitchen diner and we all sit in there in the evening, so as I don't want her getting cold (as I think she is becoming an older lady, And she has a bit of arthritis) I have put her bed by the fire so she sleeps there now, and she loves being part of the family. I love her presence there. I am very very attached to her. 🐶

Always had cats. They always sense the situation and act accordingly. There was slight resentment when dc1 arrived, which met with a week of him showing his displeasure, sitting facing the wall and tail wagging!! Luckily he soon got over that and is very good with all 3 dc and now often curls up on their bed with them. He is very much part of the family and probably regards us as his servants!!

Our family is made up of human animals and non-human animals, with the feline in charge, obviously! She is the most protective creature, especially of me: she spent 25 mins screaming at me when she found me wading about in the river (legitimately doing something, I must add, but she thought it was beyond stupidity!), but was as happy as larry when I got out and went for a walk along the bank instead. Similarly, the first time DP and I went to the bee hive she hung back but repeatedly told us off for being stupid (again!), but the next week, when I inspected the hive on my own she came right round and supervised me closely - obviously unhappy about being there, but not able to trust me to take care of myself!

My much beloved old cat died this morning and I'm devastated. She was very much a part of the family - always followed round whoever was in the house, sat next to me when I was working (I WFH), helped my DP with his depression, and when I was ill recently she sat on my bed the whole time to keep me company. The house feels very different without her.

Our 4 year old daughter is an only child so our siamese cat Saffi is her playmate and confidant. Saffi is so tolerant of her she can pick her up and rag her around and she's never shown any aggression towards her. Saffi will curl up with her on lazy Sunday afternoons to snooze whilst we watch a film. In the summer she'll not leave our daughter's side in the garden often chasing around bubbles.

I have 5, all cats and I treat them like my babies! I have full conversations with them and they all sleep on the bed witb me especially one, Dobby who curls up around my head on the pillow

We have just got a puppy for our two autistic girls one of which is non verbal. We’re hoping in time she’ll become a therapy dog. She has brought so much joy to us and my dds adore her.

My husband is a dog handler;our dogs are treated like kings in our house,their not only part of our family,their my husbands works colleagues,his best friends,his protectors and the ones who put a roof our heads and food on the table,their not just our pets,their our everything.

My best friend is named Pixie. My sisters dog had puppies 9 years ago. I was just out of an abusive relationship (Id been living in London but moved back to Ireland to escape him) so she let me choose one of the pups. This is my very special dog, Pixie.
She’s not a smart dog, bless her, but she is the most loving creature I’ve ever met. I suffer from PTSD due to childhood abuse, and without this dog at my side I am almost sure I would have killed myself by now. She is just the best wee dog. She sleeps in my bed, curled up behind my knees, and when I have nightmares she comes to lick my face and snuggle against me, and it’s the most comforting thing I can think of. She is always by my side. She ‘hugs’ me when I start shaking from anxiety by pressing herself against my chest and burrowing her head into my shoulder. She is not an official emotional support dog, but without her, I would be an absolute mess.

This dog isn’t just family, she’s my best friend in the world (apart from my son lol) and without her, I would be a complete mess. She has helped me hold it together when I feel like my world is crashing in on me. Just by being by my side, she has made my life bearable and reminded me that life is worth living. Words just can’t express what she means to me. All I can do is hope she knows how much I love her and that she is an important member of our little family! ❤️🥰

Our rescue cat is the 6th member of our household. Remember Nana from
Peter Pan? She has nothing on our Garfield, he will keep our middle boy entertained for hours, push toy cars around with his paws, sit himself in the middle of the wooden train tracks and watch the trains go round. He attempts to play football and is a great fielder in tennis ball cricket. We nickname him the cat who thinks he's a dog.
When we have builders/painters/plumbers in he likes to supervise them and sat with the roofer for hours last week whilst repairs were made to the roof.
At night he likes to cuddle up with the middle boy but if he senses the teenager is upset, he goes to sleep with him instead.
We love our Garfield 😍😻

Hugh, is our golden retriever he’s 9 and loved to bits by all of us, we rarely leave him home alone and he’s just always at my side I couldn’t imagine him not being part of the family, my boys cuddle and love him my eldest just adores him and he sleeps in his room

We have four cats, two male (Ronon and Loki) and two females (Modo and Gizmo) - all spayed/neutered of course! My girls are both disabled cats, one has radial hypoplasia and the other has one very short front leg (rest are normal length) and are so extremely loving. I rescued them together (sisters from the same litter) and in having them around I got the strength and courage to leave my (now EX) abusive partner, because they gave me more love and attention than he did, just having them made me realise how inadequate the relationship was.

Now I have a lovely husband who is father to my one year old twins and with him came Ronon. I have never seen such a bond as they share. My husband used to suffer frequent severe anxiety attacks, Ronon is so attuned to him that he was already calming/comforting him before he or I even knew an attack was coming, suffice to say he is a protector of his human ‘dad’. This was made clear when hubby and I were still in the early dating days, we’d been out for a meal and a few drinks, had walked part of the way home when he experienced an attack. After resting I walked him home. We got into his flat and Ronon (who I had never met at this point!) immediately put himself between us (hubby had sat down upon arrival) hissed at me and got a huge brush tail, he didn’t attack me but only calmed when I left the room, when hubby had recovered, Ronon came to me to assess me more closely and decided I wasn’t too bad :’)

Then Loki, the last of our furry family, I found him tangled in a bush as a kitten. I checked local vets and put up posters in case he had just wandered away from his owner but no response was ever received so he was welcomed into the fold (slowly by the other cats of course!) he was just turning one when I found out I was pregnant with our twins, now he is their doting ‘Cat Brother’. He plays with them and has never scratched or bitten when they get a bit rough, he just meows at me indignantly to get them off and I take care of teaching them (as best I can) to be gentle. They adore him, he does sometimes get a bit too attached mind you, we have to always do a double check he hasn’t snuck into their room to join them in their cots at night! It’s rough sometimes meeting the demands of twin toddlers and four loving cats, of course the children ALWAYS come first (which took the cats some time to adapt to naturally), but despite several people insisting we rehome them (some for the practicality others, silly superstitions about Cats and Babies) we reply “there is not one of the cats we could live without, they have shared so much with us and are a part of this family.”

We currently have 4 cats and 7 chickens. They are a huge part of the family and we now have more appreciation of this having lost our eldest cat recently

Of course our cats are a part of our family, they live in our home and give us love which we return.....and I tell you how I KNOW it, every picture my kids have drawn of "our family" the cats are ALWAYS in it...granted they can often appear to be slugs with seven legs, but no, they are the cats hahaha

We have a little house guinea pig and she is lovely, my daughter loves playing and cuddling with her. I chat away to it when I'm cleaning and quite enjoy it. It's perhaps not the same as a dog but we've become so attached to her and she squeaks away for attention

Our cat has become my son's alarm clock in the mornings. He (our son) used to really struggle to get out of bed and get ready for school but now we let our cat go upstairs (he's not usually allowed up there) and he jumps onto my son's bed and 'catches' his feet under the duvet until he wakes up. It's a ritual they've both grown to love doing. Occassionally though, we'll pop in a few minutes later to find they are both dozing fast asleep with their heads on the pillow!

We have a bulldog, he's nearly 2 and we bought him birthday presents and grandma made him a doggy friendly birthday cake just for him. he got Christmas Presents and even a doggy Christmas dinner. He's very much part of our family. Everything we do he is considered, if we can take him we do.

Our cat has his own personality and we humanise him in the way we talk about him. In our heads he has a job, strong political views and likes going to the pub to hang with his mates. Weird but we have always done it. His job is in haulage at present.

We have two cats and one dog and definitely regard them as part of the family (the chickens and fish not so much!). I'm looking forward to taking our dog on holiday this year. She is a Midlands dog so has never seen the sea.

Our dogs a a huge part of the family. My kids play well with them and my youngest is always looking for the dogs when she come back from being out somewhere.

Our dog rules the house!! We take him every we can and even ensure we have 'dog holidays' where we visit North Devon, Cornwall or Wales so we can go on plenty of walks for him. He gives us so much joy and happiness he certainly deserves a holiday.

The fish have been just the right pet for the dcs, surprisingly scientific in keeping them.

My cat is an important part of my family. Been there with me when no one else was there to support me through my hard times. Having my cat around me didn’t make me feel as lonely as I would have otherwise.

had a few dogs over the years loved to death spoilt rotten,held in my arms as they died at the vets one aged 3 suddenly with leukemia.one with a brain tumour.our current dof teddy a yorkie poo aged 3 loved spoilt,we celebrate their birthdays.treat them well.meet his friends every weekend over the park for a good play,they give so much love kills me to loose a dog but know we can give so much joy so always get another one.hate reading stories about pet cruelty,how can anyone hurt an animal we feel gulity if we stand on his paw by accident .xmas he always gets a bag of presents and his 4 best pals get a small gift,love my dog he gets on my knee for a cuddle when im sad gives so much love

Kermit our budgie is a member of our family. She does a special tweet (not the social media kind) when we sneeze as a way of saying 'bless you'. She has mimicked the sounds the TV makes when we change programme or volume. She waves at me and is always happy when you have a little chat with her.