A Dog is Not Just a Pet by Gerry Orz, age 12
Now, my dog is about 11 months old – she’s turning one in October. The first year of her life was not easy. She was a runt of the litter so her immune system was weak. In the first six months with us she survived pneumonia, battled internal bleeding and went through a pretty serious surgery.
When we think about dogs, cats, fish even lizards, the first word that comes to mind is … PETS. But are they really? No, all these species are our family members. Maybe to someone all of them are just animals, but to us my little Juliet (Jul-Jul) is a daughter to my mothers and a sister to me and my brother. Just as our three cats.
When we were worried that the future didn’t look very promising for my adorable puppy, I was heartbroken. I can’t imagine losing her and I think a lot of pet owners can relate to this. Our pets are family and are being cared for like children. I know my puppy today come to my room when I was in bed and licked my face to make me feel better. When I am under the weather or just sad, it makes feel much better. You can’t buy or fake an unconditional love like this. So, people who think animals aren’t that big of a deal and think that they don’t have feelings are completely wrong. Animals are just like us- they care for us and they love us. They can even be a little bit sassy like my 4-legged sister, “Jul!”
