If I had to do it over again, I would never let my kiddos have a pet.

But that isn't the decision I made when my three oldest kiddos were little. Through their growing up years, we owned at least five dogs and four or five cats. Not all at the same time, of course--although I hear some people like having a menagerie running around their house. 

Yes, the dogs and cats were fun to cuddle, especially when they were just a few months old. Then they became responsibilities--animals to be walked and groomed and fed. And guess who did most of that most of the time?

Me.

But that's not the reason I am so dead-set against pets. Most moms know that when their kids say, "We'll take care of the dog," what they really mean is, "We'll take care of the dog for a while." (

The reason I don't want pets anymore is because two days ago Muse, my kitty, died. It was sudden and it was heartbreaking. Actually, Muse was my son's kitty, but when his first job took him to New York, he left Muse with us.

I cried. My husband cried. And all my kiddos cried--from my twenty-three-year-old son, who learned about this during a long distance phone call--right on down to my almost six-year-old daughter.

Ugh.

I still sniffle and tear up when I think about that darned cat. Last night my youngest was saying her bedtime prayers and she prayed about Muse.

"God, I hope Muse is having lots of fun in heaven playing with all the other kitties. And I hope you are taking care of my dead fish too."

Children--got to love them and their innocence.

And pets--well, I guess you've got to love them too.