You might not like what I'm going to say next. Please avert your eyes if you are a pet lover and want to retain a semblance of respect and love for nanny.nora. I am not a HUGE pet fan. (GASP!) Don't get me wrong. I like a nice snuggle with a cat or dog, but only on my timetable. Like when I can wash my hands or clothes soon after. READ: Allergies and germ/dirt phobia. (I know that's funny coming from someone who deals in snot and poo all day.) Thankfully most of the houses I have worked are kept uber clean and my slight allergies are held at bay with a Claritan and direct-pet-contact-hand-washing. However, since animals, much like children, are never predictable, having a pet in the house is often like adding another kid into the mix. (I should totally be getting pet-pay!) ;-)
My first pet-ercise was the butterscotch lab of the twin boys household. His worst crime was not immediately rushing back in when I called him from outside and barking at the littlest sound. He was kind of a scared-y-dog. (Imagine Scooby Doo, but less cartoony and he didn't talk.) In general he was well behaved around food and the kids, but his high strung nature didn't allow me to relax at all.
The house I currently work in has a collection of pets to contend with. There is the cat. He avoids us at all cost and he loves to terrorize the dog. (It's HYSTERICAL). Honestly, I don't see him till nap time when he comes to get a little rub down and slinks off to sleep in the sun. Our relationship works. My cat allergies are the worst and to be honest, since seeing Cat's Eye, feline's kinda freak me out, so I can totally deal with a little nap time pet and his total domination of the dog. Ah...the dog. This creature is trouble with a capital T. The first day I worked there he wouldn't stop humping my arm while I sat on the floor playing with the children. Within the first week he threw up 5 times (in one day!) and he succeeded in licking an explosive poop out of the high chair. In my almost 2 years with The Cs he has eaten countless diapers and stolen food from plates, hands, and counter-tops. He is a terribly sweet dog, but his misbehavior rivals his disposition with a vengeance.
So the long and short of it is, nanny.nora is all about fish and things that live in cages as pets. If they are loud, make me sneeze, fight trolls who want to steal my soul, or eat the sandwich off my plate, then we're gonna have some issues. ;-)