I was driving to the Dentists early this morning, listening as I often do to LAFM.  The breakfast show was on, and Mel was bitching about her children's pet guinea pigs, which had been 'passed on' from another family, and which she now wanted to get rid of as her kids weren't bothered with them anymore.

If I hadn't already been running late, I would have pulled over and called the station to give this woman an ear full.

Not only was she setting a terrible example by not making sure her kids looked after their pets, but now she wanted to pass them on like hand-me-down clothes or perhaps an old car!  Not only that, but she was doing it on local radio!!  Hey, I'm sure she's a great parent, and I'm sure she had no bad intent, but the simple fact that she thought nothing of making it a topic of general conversation really pissed me off.

What's that, you say?  They're only a couple of stupid guinea pigs?
Well, that may be so, but in my humble, personal opinion, when you bring a pet into your home, you make a commitment to provide for it.  The pet cannot choose whether or not it wants to be there, it can't make you like it (or dislike it), and it certainly can't feed itself.  It certainly (in most cases) can't find somewhere better to live if it thinks you're doing a crap job of looking after it.  Much like a baby, pets rely on their owners to provide everything for them.

To the parents out there who 'let' their kids get/talk them into getting a pet and then complain when the kids aren't interested anymore, suck it up!!  You're the parent, you made the decision, now it's your responsibility.  First, it might be something little, like a guinea pig, fish or bird - what about when your kids then have kids?  Perhaps even while they're living at home?  What about when the excitement wears off - are Mum and Dad going to pick up the pieces and look after the baby?  Or perhaps just put an ad in the paper: Give Away Baby to good home, great with kids!!

I do digress - I tend not to be the best author in the world when I'm writing about something that makes me mad, but I'm sure by now you've gotten the point.  Well, I hope so anyway.