A Pet's Love

    The love for a pet is like no other.  Anatole France once said, "Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." I think this means that the love for a pet can not be felt until one has had a pet, like a parent holding their new-born child.  My guinea pigs are named Markus and Kyle and I love them more than one would think.  When I received them less than one year ago, I never thought that I would care for them as much as I do now. Essentially, they are my children, my little babies.  I care for them like I would like to do for my own child.  I feed, water, clean, and play with them, just as I would for a child.  I teach them, not what I would teach another human being, but fundamentally the same.  They return my love also; they will lick my fingers or nibble on my shirt.  They love snuggling with me and they have the cutest back-stretches and yawns.  I don't know how I would live, how I did live, when I didn't have them in my life; they are my family.  I don't know exactly how other people feel about their pets, but I would hope that they wouldn't consider them pets, I would hope they would consider them family.