If you’re a pet owner…you’ll know just how much these gorgeous floof balls become a HUGE part of the family.
Every pet owner has a special spot for their furry bundle of joy in the living room, a particular spot under the dinner table (if they’re lucky!), and you can always rely on them to meet you at the door when you come home from an exhausting workday.
You’ll also know that pets can be hard work. They take time, cost money, make a mess and add to the overall family logistics. It can be difficult to keep track of who’s fed your fur-baby breakfast, whose turn it is to take them for a walk, and when their next trip to the vet is scheduled.
I profusely resisted my family’s constant requests (or rather badgering) to get a family pet for years. I knew that my kids would leave the hard work to me and keep all the fun parts of having a pet to themselves. Just like their mama, my children were relentless in their pursuit of what they wanted, relentless to the extent that my daughter made numerous impressive attempts to persuade me as to why the family NEEDED a dog. After lots of pleading, convincing and a few insightful PowerPoint presentations, they finally wore me down and I gave in.
And hey! Apparently, the secret to happy kids is listening to their desires and needs…
So during the pandemic in 2020, we researched different dog breeds and decided we loved the temperament, drive and cuteness of an Australian Shepherd. Incredibly, despite the high demand for dogs during COVID our beautiful Aiyla (eye-la) appeared out of nowhere. In our eyes, it was meant to be. We stumbled across the most dedicated amazing breeder and of course, we fell in love with little Aiyla at first sight and 12 days later we brought her home. Aiyla has filled our home with so much love and laughter.
But, the story doesn’t end there… After a few months, we started thinking about getting a second pup. I know, I must be bat-sh*t crazy! Again, it was just meant to be…the latest addition to the Burgess clan is our gorgeous puppy, Skye (Sky), making us now a family of six. You must be thinking I’m totally nuts to be raising two young puppies eh? Twice the work and twice the money! But nuh-uh it’s been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done, I’ve learnt more about myself, I feel like I’m balancing work and life better and I’ve become a lot more patient. In saying that training two puppies ain’t for the faint-hearted LOL!
Having pets in the home is a blessing, they both greet me excitedly at the door when I come home from the office, and wake my kids in the mornings so I don’t have to! They’re fast becoming best friends to my kids, and much loved members of our family. Aren’t their faces just the sweetest?
(Skye on the left, Aiyla on the Right)
Now that beautiful Aiyla and Skye are part of the family, I’ve started to notice my kids are happier and healthier.
As it turns out, there are so many physical and psychological benefits to getting a family pet:
- A pet gives unconditional love (it’s in their chemistry!). Dogs release the same “love hormone” that humans do when they look at you – how cute!
- A pet gives children a safe place to share their feelings. If you think your kids struggle to open up to you about their emotions, getting a family pet can really help them to talk about their thoughts, feelings, and even share their secrets.
- A pet can teach empathy. Pets can’t share their needs or desires with us in the same ways that we can with each other, so kids have to learn to use empathy to understand what your family pet needs and feels.
- A pet teaches confidence and responsibility to young pet owners. Assigning the feeding, exercise and clean-up of your family pet to your kids is a really great way to teach them to be accountable for the health and well-being of your furry floofs. Here’s a list of age-appropriate tasks for your kids to take care of the family pet, and grow into responsible young pet owners.
- A pet helps socialize children and increase verbal skills. Kids that grow up with pets are more likely to be cooperative and share with others, and have less problems with their peers than kids that didn’t grow up with pets.
- A pet can be very therapeutic for your mental health and well-being. Studies have shown that being a pet owner can reduce your anxiety, stress and loneliness. Plus, hugs from your pet when you’re feeling down are the best feeling in the world.
- A pet keeps you active (especially for dog owners). When I feel like I can’t motivate myself to go to the gym, or get out of bed early on a cool winter’s morning for that run I promised myself I would do, just knowing that my fur-baby needs exercise works wonders for keeping me active. Thanks Aiyla!
- A pet can have a positive impact on a child’s development, including less allergies and health complications, less social anxieties, overall better heart and brain development, and better emotional intelligence.
After learning all of those benefits, how could I say no to Aiyla and Skye? Of course, we have now added both of them as family members in our Life Sorted account. They have their own profile, and everyone takes turns walking them. It’s how I make sure that they’re both being pam-paw-ed (LOL), and that the fam are doing their chores on top of all the fun stuff.
Here’s how you can use Life Sorted to help you manage your fur-baby(s)…
- Add your pets as family members in Life Sorted (and include a cute profile pic).
- Set up a daily repeating to-do to feed your pets, and add reminders. Whoever does this can tick it off each day, so that everyone can see it. No more forgetting or feeding twice! 😱
- Set up a daily repeating event to walk/exercise your dog. You might like to rotate this between different family members on different days. If it gets scheduled, it happens.
- Add a monthly repeating to-do with a reminder to worm your pet (this has saved me so many times)!
- Add events for vet visits, vaccination due dates, pampering appointments, puppy training and doggy daycare to keep track of what they’re up to.
- Add pet food to your shopping list and set the frequency, so that you’ve always got what you need.
- Add your pet’s birthday and set reminders so the whole family can celebrate their special milestone.
So, there you have it.
Not only can Life Sorted organise the humans in your family, but it can also take care of the floofy kids too.
Furbabies, sorted! 🐾
x Jo
