I have had many pets over the years, but I had two favorite pets as a child.  One, was my hamster, Mushroom.  She was the sweetest hamster.  She loved to run in her ball and would come if you called her name.  I was maybe 9 or 10 when she passed away and I can still remember the way it made me feel and how I reacted.  My dad had left a plastic bag too close to her cage and she nibbled on it and I think she choked on it. My mom wasn't home at the time, but I called her and was screaming and crying into the phone about how my dad killed Mushroom.  I was hysterical.  As an adult, I am terrified of hamsters and wouldn't welcome another one.  Is it odd that a loved pet from childhood would be intimidating as an adult?

Purrty, was my kitten.  She was found abandoned right before we adopted her.  She was diagnosed with asthma which caused her to constantly purr... therefore she became Purrty.  She was a beautiful calico kitten and so sociable for a cat.  If you called her, she would come running and if there was a bug she would swat it.  In a family of all girls, especially me, she would be the hero that came and got rid of any spiders, beetles, or any other creepy crawly.  I loved her so much, but she became an outdoor cat and eventually never came home.  I am not sure what happened to her, but I like to think that someone took her in and loved her so much.  I still love kittens and adopted one about a year ago that looks just like her.

This is my Sara Rose.  She is my special pet as an adult.  She is the one I personally selected and I think she selected me too.  She will never be an outdoor cat. 

  I truly feel a pet makes a home.  What do you think?