Three Can Be as Bad as One
I just opined, via Twitter, that you can have two of any kind of pet of your choice without censure, but at three of one kind of animal you are now a "(Pet of choice) person."*
Someone Tweeted back that no, three is when they wonder about you; four is when you're "(Pet of choice) person." I am willing to admit when I'm wrong, but I think we need more than two people weighing in on this. How many of one particular type of animal makes a person...that kind of person?
*This rule doesn't apply to tarantulas. I understand from tarantula owners that they're very sweet, but let's stipulate than even a single tarantula in a cage makes you "Bob, that guy with all the tarantulas."
Someone Tweeted back that no, three is when they wonder about you; four is when you're "(Pet of choice) person." I am willing to admit when I'm wrong, but I think we need more than two people weighing in on this. How many of one particular type of animal makes a person...that kind of person?
*This rule doesn't apply to tarantulas. I understand from tarantula owners that they're very sweet, but let's stipulate than even a single tarantula in a cage makes you "Bob, that guy with all the tarantulas."
posted by Unknown at 7:38 AM
15 Comments:
Personally, I'm with Quinn. As someone who has done a lot of apartment hunting with three cats, I can say with some authority that "We have two cats" does not raise eyebrows, whereas "We have three cats" generally gets your application moved to the bottom of the pile. Eventually, we just gave up on being honest about the number of animals and only claimed two of them, since at least one is under a bed and out of sight at any given time anyway.
Two gives the pets someone of their own species to hang with.
Three means trouble. Now with the food bowls and bedding they have taken over a large part of the house.
Actually, if you are in an apartment, two would be enough to qualify you as one of those people.
I think it depends on how much square footage they occupy.
Maybe it's more of a size thing. One horse per person is enough. A containment issue? Who would quibble with an aquarium with five or seven or nine occupants, provided said aquarium is the right size. A neighbor had a pair of gorgeous mastiffs, and looked quite snug walking them with one on each side of her; three of those would be unwieldy. Another neighbor has a variety pack of three little dogs. Not for me, but fine for her. Here, we have two cats, but temporarily had three when we took in a stray until a daughter moved out and packed the spare cat off to Nebraska. Aesthetically, odd numbers provide a more pleasing arrangement, not that cats or dogs or most pets will stay arranged... Four is probably closer to the cut-off of which you speak.
I'd go with three, although I wouldn't mind being known simultaneously as "that pot-bellied pig person," "that bunny person," and "that cow-hugger person."
Three. It's definitely three.
I agree with three as well! We went from two dogs to three and now we are definitely the crazy dog people.
I would like to submit that the rules don't apply to anything in the Arachnida family. If Bob owned a scorpion we would probably think of him as "Bob, the guy with all the scorpions".
I would also like to add, way off topic, that I just finished your book "The Year of Learning Dangerously" and I think I've never giggled so hard so frequently in all of my life except, maybe, when I read "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy". Thanks for sharing your anxieties and observations. It was comforting as well as entertaining.
Three is the magic number. Apartments, as a previous commenter said, will allow you two pets, but once you hit three...
Also, three makes your friends wonder about you. Was it just bad judgment? Inability to say no to the children? It's the tipping point. footnote: tattoos also have a limit of two before you become one of Those People. Piercings, too, unless they are all in your ears.
As Schoolhouse Rock so aptly stated, 'Three is a magic number.' That's when you start being defined by the animals, rather than being the people who have a couple of cats or a couple of dogs.
My personal philosophy is that animals, like children, should never outnumber the adults in the house. ;)
Three makes you "a _______ person."
Four makes you "that weird lady with all the ___________," - especially if they're cats. Apologies to all cat lovers, but it's true, and we all know it.
We've got three Airedales ... we are Airedale people. There, I said it and I'm glad.
A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse! Now that is a ‘horse person’ if I ever saw one and he didn’t have even one horse.
I have to toss my vote with the Three crowd based on personal experience. We found a parrot. We already had two dogs. Then we got a parakeet to keep the parrot company (not in the same cage! To just be another bird in another cage so they could squawk at one another). Then we got a second parrot. It was at that point that people started suggesting we had gone overboard. At this point we have seven birds (five parrots, a starling and a pigeon and yes, they are all indoors with us) and our friends have long since dubbed me a Crazy Bird Lady. Oh, and now we have three dogs. Hubby's elderly father decided he could no longer take proper care of his dog and now she lives with us. Making us also the Crazy Dog People, which we definitely were not when there were only two dogs.
My husband and I came up with our own formula, it is dependent upon the number of people. If there are ever more of that kind of pet than there are people in the house you are that "pet" person. My husband and I with three cats are cat people, but if we had a kid, we would be back to just people who have pets.
I agree whole heartedly with the tarantula scenario. My daughter had a friend who used to have a name. Then she decided to raise crickets. You get it.
And 4, but only if you have no other pets too. If you have 4 cats you might be the cat lady on the corner... but if you have 4 cats and 3 dogs? Then you might as well have chickens in the backyard and a goat in the garage because as far as I'm concerned you are are qualified for 4H anyway.
If someone can handle more than two pets at a time AND keep the children alive? I can't even process how that is possible.
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