[speaker002:] well I've kind of resisted having any pets because well I had some pets as a child
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] but uh now that I have two kids they're sort of like pets you have to take care of them a lot and they require a lot of time and um neatness and plus you know now that I'm married I have a husband that I do some things that you know help him
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] and so it seems like I have plenty things to do and so I thought that if we got a pet that that would be just one more person
[speaker001:] what kind of pet did you have as what kind of pets did you have as children
[speaker002:] well the kids you know the kids wanted  the kids love all kinds of pets you know cats and dogs and things and I know some kinds of pets are more
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] independent and as a child I had um you know like a we had a dog and we had turtles and we had um you know small lot of the small things like I know we got a little bunny at Easter once and
[speaker001:] uh-huh uh-huh
[speaker002:] a little baby chicken and all that but they say you shouldn't do that any more but um
[speaker001:] yeah well I have um I have a cat that I've had for about eight or nine years
[speaker002:] uh-huh oh yeah
[speaker001:] and I wouldn't trade her for anything I also have a child
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] cat's lot easier to take care of than the child you can go away and leave her for a few days
[speaker002:] yes they can take care of themselves especially cats are pretty good about being independent
[speaker001:] yeah I've left her well I've left her alone up to about four days
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] because she doesn't she's real good she doesn't overeat or anything
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] and so I can leave food out and know that you know she only eats when she's hungry I know some people have cats that no matter how much you put down they'll eat it all
[speaker002:] oh yeah
[speaker001:] and then if I'm if I'm gone longer than that then I'll have somebody come in and um you know make sure that she has food and and fresh water usually I just leave a faucet dripping in a bowl in the kitchen and I've even she drinks out of the toilet
[speaker002:] well we just last week we got a gerbil that's a thing that I picked for the kids because they were wanting to have a pet and I I didn't want to have one I picked gerbils because
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] they apparently they aren't like you know they don't smell as bad as other
[speaker001:] uh well you have to keep uh if you don't keep them clean my friend had gerbils and you could smell it as soon as you walked into their her house
[speaker002:] yeah oh that's awful and I don't like that odor and um and they don't require as much but we'll see how it works out it wasn't as it's not something that um I had to like learn to
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] something that's going to be running around your house that if you're unaccustomed to that you wouldn't like such a big change and they stay in their little cage and you throw a few things in there they're not loving you know you know like a cat
[speaker001:] yeah yeah can you hold did they let you hold them or
[speaker002:] well we're just getting used to them right now we're kind of just letting you know touching them
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] and we've picked them up before but that was kind of scaring them pretty bad right now
[speaker001:] was it are they young do you know how old they are
[speaker002:] well they they seem like you know they were smaller compared to some of the other ones
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] but we we I did that I let the kids have a pet because I wanted them to have practice in caring for someone else and you know not being so selfish
[speaker001:] uh-huh how old how old are your kids
[speaker002:] they're four and five
[speaker001:] okay mine's five
[speaker002:] and I thought it would be good for them to just practice you know having someone else to care for and everything I know that a lot of pets a lot of people have pets because they make good companions and
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] friends and
[speaker001:] they do or my cat does to me like she doesn't like anybody but me in fact no one would know I had her because if anyone comes over she immediately goes into hiding
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] but um I I had a dog for a while before I had my son and I grew up we grew up having dogs and I'd like to have a dog but
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] kind of like for the same reasons as you I just the care that goes into them and you know if I you know decide to take off for a week or so
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] you know I can't leave a dog like I can leave a cat
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] and plus they require a lot in the way of training and which now that I'm home would probably be a good time to do it if I were going to do it but you know I just don't you know there I don't know why but with dogs it seems you have to have a lot more vet bills
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] plus they're more expensive to get
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] now my cat I've had her for eight or nine years I had her spayed and I had her declawed which you know was an initial expense but then she has not been sick one day I have never had her to the vet other than just her you know her maintenance stuff and it seems like whenever I've had a dog you know something always they're always getting sick or you know breaking a leg or
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] something
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] and I just I don't need that expense right now plus they eat more and
[speaker002:] expensive to maintain and keep the flea powder and the flea dip and
[speaker001:] yeah that yeah I don't know if that's such a big problem here in Dallas my cat stays inside because she's declawed so I don't really have a problem with that but yeah if you had a dog you know they need exercise and you have to walk them
[speaker002:] uh-huh uh-huh that's true they are a lot I guess that's the number one reason why I'm I'm not really ready to have a pet too much I kind of consider these gerbils just kind of something you look at
[speaker001:] not really pets just kind of things
[speaker002:] yeah they are not because they don't really acknowledge that they know you you know it's not like a pet pet a pet is someone that comes up to you and is happy to see you and that kind of thing
[speaker001:] yeah yeah yeah well they make you feel special you know I live alone with my five year old and my cat and she really does she makes me feel like she cares about me and
[speaker002:] but uh-huh
[speaker001:] you know it it gives you some strokes there that you may not get otherwise because I'm cooped up in the house all day
[speaker002:] that's true
[speaker001:] and um I would like to have what I would really like to have is an aquarium and have some really nice fish
[speaker002:] um
[speaker001:] but until I get in a place where I feel like that's where I'm going to be for a long time they're just their so hard to move
[speaker002:] a long time yes and they they take up a lot of you know good space you know kind of like a bookcase
[speaker001:] yeah now I have some friends who have aquariums and I enjoy watching the fish and looking in at them you know but that's something that you really I feel need to learn about and read about you know you need to learn how to take care of them and you need to learn
[speaker002:] uh-huh huh
[speaker001:] what fish are compatible you know and what ones you can put together and what ones you can't you know how to feed them and how to you know to clean them you know the thought of cleaning an aquarium is not very pleasing but
[speaker002:] no
[speaker001:] with filters and all that stuff that they have now I mean they're almost maintenance free
[speaker002:] yes and I noticed um that's kind of what I was attracted to these gerbils for is that they they have a certain area that they use like their bathroom
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] and you can just um you know rinse that out it's kind off to the side it unscrews and
[speaker001:] yeah well that's good
[speaker002:] and so you can just take it out with a garden hose rinse it out
[speaker001:] oh
[speaker002:] and you supposedly you don't have to change all of the the bedding and everything except every three weeks which is not very often
[speaker001:] well that's good yeah that's not bad I had two I managed I guess when I was in high school or junior high I managed to talk my parents into letting me have a gerbil
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] I won't tell you what happened to it if you just got them you don't
[speaker002:] oh no it's something awful oh
[speaker001:] poor thing part of it was my fault I guess I just didn't take care of it like I should have
[speaker002:] um well I'm hoping that it'll be a little bit of diversion for the kids and a little bit of a
[speaker001:] do they like to watch him
[speaker002:] they do and they're anxious for us to be able to hold it but I these just aren't going to be as tame as the book I got a book first
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] they just don't seem like um well I guess we've have them about a week now and they're just not kind of
[speaker001:] how many did you get did you get two are they male or female does that make a difference
[speaker002:] two well we hope that we got two females so that they're supposed to get along better
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] and they won't have any babies
[speaker001:] but you don't really know
[speaker002:] I guess we won't know unless they never have any babies
[speaker001:] really until there are about six more in the cage
[speaker002:] well you know the people that sold them go well it's hard to tell but we think and we're going oh great
[speaker001:] oh no
[speaker002:] so if they have babies then we'll have to get rid of one of them
[speaker001:] but I've heard that it that after they have babies that you have to separate the then you have to separate the male from the female or the male could hurt the babies
[speaker002:] yeah that's what I hear so I'm hoping I think they have a really quick reproduction cycle of only like thirty days or something
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] so within a month I guess or two we'll know
[speaker001:] oh no that's funny
[speaker002:] well I guess I better run go
[speaker001:] okay well it was nice talking to you
[speaker002:] yes nice
[speaker001:] and good luck
[speaker002:] well thanks and it was nice to hear that you've had such good luck with your cat
[speaker001:] yeah I I I know my cat she's reaching her life expectancy and I'm already thinking oh no