It was apparent from respondents' discussions that pets can play different roles in their owner's lives at different stages of life. Thus, a pet may be acquired as a teaching aid for children and end up as a companion, or be bought as a watchdog when, in fact, it becomes a child substitute. The relationship between an owner and their pet(s) is, thus, not static and it can be influenced by the personality of the animal as well.
Pets can play any of the following roles, or indeed a combination of them.
This is a common rationalisation for acquisition amongst parents of younger children. Children plead for a pet and part of the "bargaining process" involves the children agreeing to care for it and feed it, and the parents will use this as a justification for getting a pet. Apparently, reality rarely fits the expectation as far as the practicalities go.
"The lazy little buggers will be sitting on the couch and the dog will be salivating with hunger and they just ignore it".
"The kids argue so much about whose turn it is to feed him that I end up doing it myself".
Pets are more successful, however, as teachers in the less tangible areas of learning respect and compassion.
"We got a cat to aid the development of our eldest son. It's been a great success, he's responsible for feeding and grooming it and I think it's taught him to respect things which are smaller and weaker than himself. He's learned to sit and pat it".
"Our kids are reasonably fair and I wonder if having animals has helped. We've always had Golden Retrievers and Labradors."
"Emily is an only child and we think having an animal will help. It'll mean there's more than one little person. She won't be the focus of everything and she won't be so indulged".
"The kids drove us mad asking about the dog when we were away on holidays".
"It's good for kids to learn to care for something other than themselves in these times when they have so much".
"When they fill the bowl she drinks, it makes them realise she needs it".
Pets are also believed to be useful instruments in the difficult areas of how to cope with death and the basics of reproductive behaviour.
"It's a life experience. My kids saw the dog next door give birth".
"I think it's important for children to have animals because it helps to introduce them to the life and death process. Because of animals' life-cycles being short, the kids are around to witness it".
"The kids know about the cats being de-sexed and so they said to me 'is that what you're going to do?' My daughter went to school and said 'my mother is being de-sexed'!"
"We have a niece with a terminal illness. Maybe the cat's death will help my son to cope when she goes. He had so much compassion for that little cat".
Overall, pets act as a repository of traditional values and the duty which parents feel to pass these on to their children. Some parents feel they would be failing in their responsibilities as parents if they "deprived" their children of pets and that what they learn from pets makes them better human beings. Typically, if parents had pets as children, then they feel their own children have a right to them as well.
"I always feel for kids who've never had a pet".
"Pets help kids realise there's more to life than 'I want'."
"Parents can give kids phobias - they pull them away when our dog isn't even looking at them".
"A friend's child wanted a dog so badly she started acting like a dog - she eventually got it".
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In addition to their function as teacher, pets are often regarded as integral to family life, giving a family a "completeness" which could otherwise be lacking. They can "draw families together" and bridge generations through the shared love and care of an animal.
"My kids treat your dog like one of the family".
"It's not a family without a dog".
"I came home from hospital with a baby and a pup, the bonding between them has been wonderful - it's not quite the same with the older children".
"My neighbour brings in bones for our dog".
"Whether or not the animals come inside depends on whether or not I want to keep my wife - if she left I'd bring 'em inside".
This can apply in situations where someone has never had a child (in which case this motivation for ownership appears to be more readily recognised by other people) or where the children have left home. Anthropomorphism can be the result.
"I've got four children - a boy, a girl and two dogs. One of the dogs is called Kelly. Kelly was the first word our two year-old said".
"My dog is my security blanket, my little child, my baby".
"You're like me. I've never had a dog, we've just got one and I'm dotty about her."
"We've got rid of our teenage children and we've got a dog because we missed them".
"My aunt had dogs because she couldn't have children. The Corgi ate what they did and it got enormous, they took it to the dentist and it had gold teeth, then it got diabetes and when it died, it had a $500 headstone".
"Before you have children, they're your children".
"My Mum has replaced me with a cat".
"My husband says the dog is his grandson because he doesn't look like getting one any other way".
This function is often associated with owners who live alone, but it can apply more generally as well.
"If we were 80, we'd say cats suit us" "Or now, I live on my own and I wish there was a cat waiting for me at home".
"We had a cat who followed us everywhere. We'd go across the paddocks to get mushrooms and she'd follow us".
"Old Sam used to walk to Drummoyne Rowers every afternoon with his dog. He'd have three schooners and the dog would have a middy".
"If you're on your own, a little dog is wonderful".
"Dogs have their own way of hassling you. If you're driving along with all the windows up and they break wind, the look on their face, I swear they smile; I swear they think it's funny".
"My husband says 'make me an ice-cream and while you're at it get one for Sally' - she loves ice-cream between two wafers".
"She waits for the kids to come home from school, she knows what time it is".
"Pensioners and old people like them for company - if you see them without pets you wonder what they do for company".
"My mother's in a nursing home and there's a dog there - the patients love it. People have this affinity with animals the problem is everybody feeds it and it has to go to the health farm now and then".
"They are human; the only thing they can't do is talk". "When I was growing up Mum was at Uni, so it was me, the dog and the babysitter". "You can't tell me animals don't have expressions, my dog grins when I get the lead".
There is an element of pet as a status symbol here, as well as recognition that breeds go in and out of fashion.
"There's an Irish Wolfhound across the road - the owner is a single career woman in her 30s, for her it's a yuppie thing. It's pedigreed, it's got papers, it's trimmed, groomed and shampooed, all her friends have poncy dogs too"
"Dogs go in fashion. Remember when everyone had an Afghan or an English Sheepdog?". "My 14 year-old is going through the paper trying to find a Rotty. They're all the rage, like designer jeans, and he's not old enough for a Ferrari".
This is, perhaps, an offshoot of the previous category. It occurs when a pet is owned because it enhances or clarifies the identity of the owner - it says a little more about their interests and personality. It is in this area that the stereotypes associated with certain breeds are most apparent.
"I wouldn't like to walk around with a little poodle, I'd like something more macho". "It's like having a V8 car, with a pet, like a car, you go for the most powerful one". "The smaller the mind, the tougher the dog". "Cats are for women but men can relate to a dog - they're tough and outdoor". "We've got a Pomeranian. It's not the sort of dog I would have chosen. It's an inside, yappy dog".
A pet may be more amenable to discipline than other household members and "they don't answer back".
"I like having a dog because at least it shows I can train my dog better than my kids".
"My father used to take his dog to work. It lay under his desk and it growled at anyone who walked in".
"I'm hard on my dogs; no tablets, no needles and they sleep outside".
Here the pet is a malleable object, particularly for children.
"The kids play with the dog in an active sense".
"My daughter dresses our Blue Heeler in baby clothes".
"A dog gives you so much. We play hide and seek with our dog and he'll find us and everything".
"You can play with our dog, he loves it".
"She's a terrific playmate for our seven year old".
as a watchdog, or else as hunting dog, sheep or cattle dog. Mousing and killing other vermin are other functional benefits. It is clear from some "worker" anecdotes that pets do not always perform as anticipated, but are nevertheless integral members of a household - the emotional benefits of ownership supersede the rational.
"I've got a new baby at home and I'd feel a bit vulnerable without the dog".
"I don't like cats, but we have one to keep the snakes away".
"Our dog stays in the backyard, he's a half breed, he cost $20, he's got a loud bark and a loud bite and he won't let anyone in".
"If you hear a noise and the dog seems relaxed you know it's just a possum, but if the dog seems alert"
"We have a cat to keep the rats down in the barn".
"The neighbour's Silky Terrier was in labour for three days - she gave a pup to us and we haven't been vandalised since".
"I've got a farm with cattle and sheep. My dogs are my livelihood, they're born to be workers".
"We're going to be house and animal-minders. My husband is out of work and we're going into business walking and feeding them, giving them TLC".
"Some of these breeders must earn a fortune".
There are some owners for whom their pet is not obviously a symbol of anything - they seem to love it for what it is, they don't treat it as "a human in a fur coat" and they are recognised by others as lovers of animals in general.
"I should have been a vet. I'm an animal person but not over the top. We enjoy our animals".
"The kids leave their food and the dog will eat it, even grapes - it saves wastage".
"There are no scraps in our house - the animals eat everything except broccoli