ARE PETS IMPORTANT MEMBERS OF OUR FAMILIES?

Yes

GETTING a dog was the best thing we ever did. Just because he can’t speak it doesn’t mean he’s not part of our family (“Pets help children ‘grow up’”, September 11).

Dogs are great. No home is complete without one. They get you out of the house even when you don’t feel like it. They don’t care if it’s cold, all they want is a nice long walk which helps you get loads of fresh air every day.

When we first got ours he wasn’t allowed on the furniture. That rule lasted about a day as he did his “puppy dog eyes” and wheedled his way on the sofa to curl up with us. Louise Hughes,

Norwich

No

SOME people love their pets more than their families and I think that’s pretty screwed up.

Pets are messy, they leave hair everywhere and cost a fortune to feed and insure. They’re also very tying and if you haven’t got anyone to look after them when you go on holiday, kennel and cattery fees are very expensive.

If your children are tugging at your heartstrings to get a puppy, just remember this. Their vows to walk him every day carry as much weight as a drunk uncle’s promise at a wedding. You’ll be pounding the streets in the rain. They won’t. Andrew Roberts,

Middlesbrough