This last weekend, millions of moms celebrated Mother’s Day.  They were showered with presents, breakfast in bed and a day of pampering (hopefully) and many of those moms didn’t even have kids.  What they did have, however; was pets, aka: fur kids.

I’m sure that viewing pets as children has been a practice for decades but it seems in today’s hip new culture, treating pets like children has become increasingly more mainstream.  I mean you can purchase the latest and greatest in doggy fashion, sometimes better quality than people’s clothes and you can cart your dog around in a snuggly or even a stroller.  People preen over their dogs like they would over their own children and worry about every day stresses like if they are eating the right stuff or getting enough fresh air or mommy and fur baby time. 

Dogs are given everything and many of them have the run of the house and the run of their owners (parents) time.  I have seen this to the extreme and have even been at a dinner party where the host allowed his dog to eat from the very same fork that he was using.  And not after he was done with it! (I love my dogs but no matter how much I  do, allowing them to eat from my fork is just gross, not to mention bad training.)

Let’s face it, dogs have filled the role of kids for many people and although many trainers have stressed that this behavior is detrimental to the good dog, no amount of groaning will change that. 

So that brings me back to the question I already asked, do you celebrate mother’s day with your dogs?  I know that I didn’t and although I love my pets, they are not really my children, they are a family pet that needs to be cared for, trained and loved but not to extremes.  Still, I never begrudge people their own feelings so if you are happy with your fur kids, then I’m sure that your dog is overjoyed with the role, especially if he is an attention loving Labrador Retriever.

What are your feelings on fur kids and celebrating a dog’s version of Mother’s Day?  Feel free to comment.

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