How old were you when you got your first pet?

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.

Did you take care of that dog all by yourself?

All except the bills...

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.

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.

I think I was 11 or 12 when I got a dog. In the end we couldn't keep it where we were living and we sent her to live with my uncle.

James