Today we have 13 pets. 7 rabbits, 2 dogs, 2 guinea pigs, 1 snake and 1 bearded dragon. That doesn’t necessarily mean our family is complete. Before, you think I have gone off the deep end hear me out. In our home we believe adopting a pet is a life long commitment and is never something we do on a whim.
For instance, last year right after my daughter’s eighth birthday, she came to me with a hand full of cash, what did she want? A SNAKE. Keep in mind I have been afraid of snakes my entire life. I wasn’t worried though; see, our children are require to research their pet before any purchase or adoption can take place. They have to know everything about their pet including what it eats, how often, cost of up keep and, of course, how long our pending family member lives. I assumed that once she knew she would be feeding this thing baby mice and taking it to college with her, she would get this whole snake thing out of her system. Boy oh boy – how wrong was I?
We started by going to our local library and getting all the educational snake books, books entitled things like ‘how to keep you pet snake happy’. We then visited the local pet store, where we met a newly hatched corn snake, she was all pink in color and McKenzie immediately fell in love. We explained to the pet store that we were not ready to adopt yet and told them about our research. The staff then let McKenzie, hold the baby snake and ask any questions she wanted, at the end of our visit they gave us a pamphlet on how to care for a corn snake. With every fact my daughter learned about her new love made her more excited. As she continued her research, we would visit the pet store for other animal supplies and she would always be glued to that same cage. At least 6 weeks have passed and by now she has learned everything there is to learn, and the whole pet store was rooting for this little girl and her new friend.
About a year ago, we became proud owners of that little pink corn snake. Pinki has tripled in size and so has my heart because watching this tiny little girl provide complete care for another life is so heart warming. McKenzie never wanted to bath our dogs, or snuggle a rabbit. I guess mammals just aren’t her thing.
But, I have watched her mature this year as she had this snake depending on her. In our home our animals have their own human. The guinea pigs only get excited when my oldest daughter enters the room and Pinki knows when her McKenzie is near, as she only comes out of her log for her. This boosts the kids confidence and they are proud of their bond with each of their animals.
This year for McKenzie’s birthday she requested a bearded dragon, I was nervous at first would this interfere with the bond she has with Pinki, will Pinki get enough attention? But I am happy to report that I had nothing to worry about. She loves both of her pets and is making sure she takes care of all of their needs. I would have never chose either one of these pets for my self let alone an 8 year old ballerina but I am glad they are here. They have built confidence, brought happiness and encouraged responsibility.
