We've always had animals. My first word was "cat." Animals make people happier, healthier and more compassionate.

My folks always had animals, but "my" first dog that I can remember was a Mini Schnauzer that came into my life at about 4 years of age. I can vividly recall her homecoming, with Mom tying a poofy red bow around her neck for her first photo. She was so tiny that she tipped over from the weight of the fabric! She gave us 17 years of pure joy!

I was born with cats and a lovely Scottie dog, Mackie!

I was about 7 we got a silver tabby cat

My parents got a puppy for me when I was a baby. An adorable little Cockapoo named Fuzzy. Been around pets every since.

my parents didn't trust us with animals. I got my first hamster when I was already out of high school. I haven't had my own pet since then but am always surrounded by dogs (: I wouldn't have it any other way. I am also biding my time until I can get a leetle doxie of my very own!

My parents would only allow us to have fish for years, but I don't consider them my first pet. Us kids finally needled them to the point where they gave in and let us get a cat; I was 12.

I almost literally had a zoo in my house from the moment I was born. Dog, cat, birds, fish, frog, sea monkeys, snails, rabbit, hamsters (they even ended up having babies!).

I was probably about 6 when I got MY first hamster though, or maybe it was my rabbit that I got first -- I can't remember. Now that I'm married, my husband and I have a dog. LOVE him :]

I was born into a house with 2 dogs and a cat...
I had a dog and a cat (at least) throughout my entire childhood. I also had birds, mice, hampsters, fish, lizards, sugar gliders, bunneis, hedgehogs, ducks, robins...everything really!

The first pet in my house was a cat when I was in 6th grade. My parents felt bad b/c they moved us mid school year and then the neighbor's cat had kittens and one day when dad came home there was a new cat in the house. However, that cat and the next were my sister's pets, they would only go to her and spend time with her.

My first pet came when I was in 9th grade and it was our Maltese Zackie (named after Zack Morris from Saved by the Bell...what can I say I was a teenage girl in the 90s!!) I had been begging and begging for a dog for as long as I can remember when one day my Mom and I were watching the Westminster Kennel Club Show and she got fet up with me and said, "THe only way we will ever get you a dog is if you write one reason for ever dollar a dog would cost." So of course I took this literally and spent weeks coming up with hundreds of reasons. I had everyone I knew including teachers and prinicipals helping me. I would have random kids in school come up to me with new reasons ranging from softer than a porcupine to always having a date on a Friday night. I can't say whether or not anyone ever told my parents what I was doing, but I can say when I walked downstairs with 40 pages of typed reasons (425 to be exact) and asked, "how much does a dog cost?" and "do I get any credit for typing them?" my mother's jaw literally dropped. I think she realized that she would HAVE to get me a dog. And they did!! It is probably one of my parents favorite stories to tell and my dad even shared it in his toast at my wedding!!

On a side note, my kids will be born into a house with pets as I already have 2 of my own and can't imagine ever having a house without pets again!

4 years old, I found a TINY TINY recently born kitten on top of a car tire (trying to keep warm from the heat the car gives off) in the winter (I am from Siberia, Russia), so I totally took it home by sneaking it into my coat pocket, only to show my mom when we finally got upstairs to our apartment. Of course she couldn't say no.

I lived in a pet free zone growing up so I got 3 pets as soon as I moved out!

i was 6

We always had pets - my first word was "nice" because my parents would say it to me when I was petting our St. Bernard. My sister and I got to pick out our first pet - a ferret named Felina - when I was about 6 or 7. Now I've got 3 dogs of my own.

i was about 6 years old and it was a mouse - his name was smokey. my mom refused to let us have any 'real' pets so instead we had vermin! my sister named her mouse myrin (after the brady bunch show) and my brother named his bullseye. original names and a bit odd. had we had a REAL pet, perhaps the name would have been better!

When I was little I had fish, a chameleon, mice, a hamster, and a gerbil (one at a time!). But I consider my real first pet my golden retriever I got when I was 10. A kitten followed me home when I was 13 and my mom couldn't say no to keeping him. Now he's her best buddy.

Now that I'm grown, I don't like rodents at all.

My first pet was also in preschool - a golden retriever which we named Barkley (like in Sesame Street). She was my BFF!! I remember taking naps and cuddling with her all the time.

i got my first pet cat-girl Minnie at the age of 6

I will be about 24!...lol...getting my first pet (an adopted Australian Shepherd) this Nov!

I was 4 when I got my first dog. My mom let me pick one out when my dad left us. I chose a Bichon puppy dying from Parvo who was rescued from a puppy mill. I named her Sunny because she was always smiling and loved to sunbathe. With the help of a good vet we nursed her back to health and she lived another 12 years and even had 7 puppies (amazing for her small size). She was such a good dog.

I was 34- it was this past December!

We have had dogs in our home before i was even born. I got my first own pet when i was 9 years old-it was a cute little hamster, but my very own dog came when i was 15.

When I was born, we had two dogs and a cat. We always had animals throughout my childhood, including dogs, cats, hamsters, bunnies, parakeets, chickens, fish, etc. My earliest sad memory is of the day we had our dog, Duffy (a golden retriever/whippet mix), put to sleep when I was in preschool. My mom didn't let me come to the vet with her, but she explained to me best she could what was going to happen, how he wouldn't be there when I got home from school, and that he was old, etc. I remember crying a lot at preschool that day because I wanted to see my dog. These days, I have two wonderful pooches.

I was 3 when I got my first dog. I was a tad younger when I got my hamster Sandy.

My first pet was a Persian named Rex. Since Rex I've had another persian, a cockatiel, and a tabby - M&M who lives with my parents still. We got Merlot about 3 years ago and Viva is my first dog!

My parents had some fish and a Himalayan cat, Ona, before I was born. She died of leukemia (I think?) before I turned 7 and then we adopted brother & sister kittens (Cinnamon & Chanel). Then we got another cat, Shadow, when I was 12. Two years later, my dad gave away Cinnamon and Chanel because they kept having bathroom-related issues and their long coats caused a lot of problems. We kept our cat, Shadow, though. Then we got our first dog, a miniature schnauzer named Scamp, three years ago when I was 16. And we adopted our Chihuahua puppy, Lucy, last year. So now we have one cat and two dogs.

I was young. I remember that. I got my first pets (two cockatoos, Blusher and Mikey) when I was really little and I got my third pet (not counting fish - they didn't live long) when I was 15. He (my cat) is two years old now.

I had a rabbit when I was 5. And then, I had my 1st cat when I was 7!
I remember how exited I was!

i was literally a year and a half old, my parents took care of it, but i had a dog (a sheltie) before i had siblings, and he was like a brother to me. we were inseparable until he died when i was 16. it certainly shaped my felings about animals and made me feel strongly about the importance of pets.

I was eight and my brother was six, and we had been pestering our parents for FOREVER. We always used to go to the movies at a mall that had a pet store and would get there early to play with all the animals before the movie. Well, one fateful day (I don't remember which movie, it was clearly not the highlight of this memory!), my dad saw Sherman (a lemon bassett) and it was love at first sight. We went right back in and picked him up after the movie!! Sherman was my BFF throughout high school, we finally lost him just a year ago, but we still love him! Sherman was the $hit.

My parents had our cat, Suzy, before they had me. As a matter of fact, I've never lived in a house without pets.

I begged my parents for 4 years for a dog and finally got one as a birthday present when I was eleven! Happiest day of my life!

When I was 3, my 4 year old brother came home with a grey cat in his hoodie, whom we named Pebbles. Pebbles somehow got pregnant and we ended up with a litter of kittens, only one of which was orange. He also had extra toes on each foot so we named him BigFoot (creative, right?). He was my first actual pet, and I've since realized I prefer dogs haha