What was your first pet? Talking about your own pet, not your parents'.
How old were you back then?
What had become of it?
I was six when I got my first pet, and it was a turtle! My dad bought it as a gift for me, but didn't tell me at first. He hide him in a fish bowl under the bed until I discovered it myself accidentally.
He escaped a few years later! He had also eaten a few of my goldfish before I knew better!
I was 15 when I got my snake, Anthrax and he is still technically the only pet I've taken ownership over. I've grown up on a farm so I have been around animals of all species all my life, however, the animals either belonged to another family member or neighbor.
My dad was alergic to pets with fur, and mom thought birds were dirty, so my sister and I were limited to fish, dime-store turtles, and the "cameleons" you could buy from vendors at parades. I guess I was part owner in these, but my sister was more interested in them than me, and still has a small tortise. My first pet that I thought of as MINE was a kitten I adopted after I had moved out on my own at the age of 28. I got him from the Humane Society, he was four months old, solid black, and I loved and spoiled him. He also drove me nuts with his kitten energy and his desire to play during the night. His favorite toy was plastic discs made to stuff a pair of socks through to keep them matched in the wash. They were small, light, slightly bent out of shape from my kneesocks, and round so they rolled. Fortunatly for me, he figurured out that if he brought it to me I would throw it more often. So when I was just falling assleep at night and he would drop a toy in my face, I could just lay there and throw it until he tired of playing fetch, and then I could sleep. He eventually graduated to milkbottle rings and plumbing washers, and I learned to make the rounds of all the furniture and large appliances once a week with a yardstick to retrieve them.
About 12 when I got my first dog. Before that the dogs belonged to my parents. When I was about 5 they got me a turtle but I don't count it as I really didn't want a turtle, my mom did.
(03-29-2012, 05:43 AM)bw Wrote: About 12 when I got my first dog. Before that the dogs belonged to my parents. When I was about 5 they got me a turtle but I don't count it as I really didn't want a turtle, my mom did.
Lucky you got your first dog so early.
My parents would never let me to get a dog or a cat when I was 12.
Fish, turtle, birds, are the only pets I could get, because they do not run around.
I'd probably say about 7/8 years old when I had a couple of goldfish, since my cats wouldn't count. I fed them the fish food and they resided in my bedroom. I haven't had a true pet of my own since.
My favourite colour is green, my favourite number is 19.
I had a goldfish in my room named Charlie, from as long as I could remember. I was feeding him by the time I was 5 or 6, and cleaning the rank by 8 or 9 probably. Hard to even remember.
Well, if we count the first pet that was fully my responsibility, that was my 3 year old cat Nell, and I got her when I was 17 (I just gave away my age here ). But there has been a sad history of pets that have gone through my family, some of which were "mine". The first one I remember was a rabbit at my fathers house, white with red eyes. I have only seen him for a couple of times, and he wasn't kept in good conditions. I have no idea what happened to him.
The next one was a cute little hamster. I got him with a cage with the wheel and everything. I was about 8-9 years old at the time, and I knew nothing about hamsters and how to take care of them, and neither did any of my family (nor did they bother to learn). He wasn't very active, but he wasn't unfriendly. My mother could hold him in his arms and he wouldn't object, but I was too scared to do the same. He met his end when someone left his cage on the balcony with the door opened, and he ran through the hole (we lived on the 4th floor).
After that there was a turtle, who was kept in a round flower vase, partially filled with water that was never changed. We had her for a week or two, and then she was given away (I hope). There was a cat and a rabbit after that, the cat was quickly returned to the streets, and the rabbit was given away to a person who kept a rabbit farm. The cat was meant to cheer me up when I was going through some tough times, but the whole situation just made me more depressed. The motivation for getting the rabbit will probably be a mystery to me forever.
In my case, pets were here first. It's been a tradition in my family to have all kind of pets and my brother and I tried to keep it alive. But if we are talking about MY first pet, it was a present from my brother. He traveled to the Moldavian Republic and brought bag a Saint Bernard puppy. He came into my room holding something behind his back and so I discovered my first pet, Berna. She slept in my bed and was a very warm and loving dog. She kept sleeping in my bed after she grew but eventually I had to take her outside because she was huge. Most of my childhood memories have Berna in them Great dog.
She died of old age.
I was about seven years old when I got my first pet. At that time I liked a particular TV programme on Belgian and Dutch TV. All the characters were animal puppets who lived together in a forest. All animal characters had distinctive human traits.
One was a tortoise called 'Stoffel' who spoke really slowly. I really liked Stoffel and thought he was sort of cute. That summer I begged and begged my parents till they bought me my first pet. Of course it was a tortoise and of course I called it 'Stoffel'.
So Stoffel the tortoise was my first pet. Though it was as slow as the character in the TV show it sometimes wandered off into the neighbours' garden. Other than that I took really good care of it. Sadly Stoffel died after he had accicently been picked up and dropped by one of my friends.
I was really sad when that happened!
My first pet at age 8, was an outdoor cat, which I named Candy. My mother was always afraid of cats, so the deal was, to get a cat, it had to remain outside. I named the cat after my favorite treat at the time, Candy! We had a few acres of fields around our house so she wandered everywhere, but I quickly trained her to come at the sound of my voice calling her name, from anywhere. Sometimes it took a few minutes, but she always appeared. Being a bit lonely as a kid, because my family had just moved from the burbs to the country, this cat, without a doubt, became my best friend. Once, my ever tourmentng older brothers buried my cat under a pile of rocks and I searched for days, relentlessly, to find her, constantly calling her name. About the fourth day, I heard a tiny little meow coming from somewhere distant and followed it to happily uncover her and rescue her. This began my affinity to cats and they all know when I meet them, they are safe with me!
I was 8 when I got some baby chickens for pets. It was around Easter time and they were different pastel colors! I named them Larry, Curly and Moe. I had them up until they started looking like teenage chickies and then my Dad gave them to a farmer who lived in the area, saying they would be happier there. I went to visit them often and believe it or not, I just knew which ones they were among all the chickens, even though they all had white feathers by then.
The first pet that we had that was actually counted as being mine was a stray cat that followed us home one night. When I was little, my mom and I would go for walks at nite after she closed up the store where she worked. One nite, we were walking back home, and a grey kitty came out from an alley and started following us home, meowing all the way. Mom tried to shoo her away, but she just kept following us anyway. Apparently, she had just been dumped, because she was very hungry, and happy to be fed when we got back home to the house. Mom let me keep her, and we had her for years and years . She used to have kittens every now and then, and we had to find homes for the kittens.
I was an only child, so Sambo was a great playmate, and I used to dress her up in my dolls clothes, which she never seemed to mind.
The very first pet I got was a fish . I was five or six he was a black fish I took very good care of him I was proud to show him off to my family . I even brought my fish to my grandmas house to show it off. I ended up leaving him there because she had a big fish tank that had other fish and I let him play with them . A couple of days later I went to check on him and he was alive he even ate the other fish. Eventually his time ran out and another fish ate him. After that we got a dog but we were never home to take care of it do to school, my parents jobs so we got rid of him . I was sad But my mom was right he was always alone. Now that I am older I got a dog for my children we had him since a pup and he is three years old now.
When I was young we always lived in the country. We had a lot of animals. Rabbits, cats, dogs, horses, ducks, chickens, hamsters and fish! But, I wouldn't say that any of them were really my pets. They were more family pets or animals. We all helped take care of them so they didn't really belong to anyone - well, probably my parents.
When I had my own kids we finally decided to get a dog. I was 39 when we got our mini schnauzer. Even though he really is everyone's pet, he was the first pet I ever made a decision to get.
We knew we would want a dog - we just aren't cat people. and we knew we would want one that doesn't shed. My husband had a mini schnauzer growing up and had fond memories of her so that is what led our search.
I stay home all day so I do the bulk of the care for my dog. So, I guess in a way that makes him more mine!
When I was born my parents had two cats. One was just called "Black Cat" and the other was called "Tigger". When I was three we moved into my parents current house a pond the day we moved in Tigger was let outside by accident and she never made her way back home I'm sure she was killed by a fisher animal of some sort. Black cat favored my mom. She'd hiss at the rest of us. I believe she lived for five more years then had to be put to sleep.
I got my very own grey Kitten when I was ten. I named him Jitterbug. He had big fat double paws like his mother had. All of our cats were outdoor cats. Jitterbug lived for many years, bringing my parents home squirrels and birds, etc. if I peered out my bedroom window and saw him in the field in the distance, he'd run to my window when called.
He'd sometimes go off into the woods for days at a time and then stroll onto the porch demanding food. When I was 20 he went missing for more than a few days and never came home.i don't know if he was killed or another family took him in or what. Our current cat is an indoor cat and we prefer it that way.
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How old were you when you got your first pet?
How old were you when you got your first pet? 
He had also eaten a few of my goldfish before I knew better!
). But there has been a sad history of pets that have gone through my family, some of which were "mine". The first one I remember was a rabbit at my fathers house, white with red eyes. I have only seen him for a couple of times, and he wasn't kept in good conditions. I have no idea what happened to him. 
Great dog.
I'm sure she was killed by a fisher animal of some sort. Black cat favored my mom. She'd hiss at the rest of us. I believe she lived for five more years then had to be put to sleep.