Mom Asks If It's Normal to Love Your Dog as Much as Your Kid — and Gets Some Wild Responses

One very honest mom on the parenting forum Mumsnet stirred up quite the discussion when she made the startling admission that she loved her dogs as much as she loved her child.

The responses from other parents on the forum came pouring in, not all of them kind. Some comments, however, were pretty wild — like one mom who said she loved her garden more than her siblings.

Here's the mom's story, along with the interesting reactions she elicited from readers.

On Mumsnet's "Am I Being Unreasonable" subforum, this mom asked fellow parents to weigh in on whether it was "normal" or not to love your pets as much as you love your own children.

"OK, rationally, I know that if I had to choose between saving my dogs or saving my kid, I'd choose my kid of course. But wow, do I love my dogs," the mom began.

She said that she'd grown up with pets and had been fond of them, but that her current two dogs "are honestly like my children."

"They're very small dogs so not sure if that makes a difference as they can be 'baby like,' but I honestly feel the same way I did with my daughter when I was bonding with her. Pure pride, contentment when I'm with them," she went on.

The mom explained that of course she loves her daughter, but her daughter is becoming a moody teen who "just doesn't seem to like me very much."

On the other hand, the pups are "always happy to see me," the mom wrote. She said the pooches also keep her company when her daughter is with her dad for the weekend.

"I just love them so much, I get this fuzzy feeling when I look at them and they've honestly brought me soooo much joy the past year and a bit," she went on. "It was hard in the beginning but now that they're all trained they are just lovely."

The mom finished up her post by asking: "Does anyone else feel this way about their pets? Is it normal?"

The responses were all over the place, from blunt and harsh to downright funny.

In direct response to whether this was normal behavior, one commenter wrote: "No, it's a revolting attitude."

"I don't love my dog anywhere near as much as I love my children," wrote another commenter, "and I would feel quite hurt if I thought my mother loved an animal as much or almost as much as she loved me."

Some commenters felt inclined to reveal some of their own similar secrets, like one person who admitted, "I love my dog. Not more than my kids, but more than my husband."

Another commenter hilariously added: "When I was married I always loved my pets more than my husband, but he could be quite an arse while my pets were lovely."

"I love my garden more than I love my siblings," admitted another, "so I am in no place to judge. My garden brings me nothing but joy. Siblings, not so much… (although I do love them)."

In the end, the mom who wrote the original post seemed to agree with one particular commenter's take on the matter. The commenter wrote: "I love my dog but it doesn't compare in any way with the love I have for my kids. However my kids are teenagers, so some days I definitely LIKE my dog a lot more."

"Maybe that's it," the mom admitted. "I'm confusing like and love."

What do you think about this mom's post? Is it "normal" to love your pets in the same way that you love your child? Do you think this mom was just confusing "like" and "love"?