How old were you when you got your first pet?

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!