National Pet Day: founded 2006 to honor pets and spotlight shelter animals.
Celebrate: give extra love, donate, or foster/adopt from rescues
Staff stories: heartfelt memories of Perky, Captain, Brownie/Pink, Cookie, Goldie/Hunter, Minx & Crazy.
Life lessons: pets provide loyalty, comfort, responsibility, and live‑in‑the‑moment wisdom.
Takeaway: pets awaken our souls—share your own story and help animals in need.
What is National Pet Day?
National Pet Day is an unofficial holiday that was started in 2006. The day is dedicated to celebrating the love and joy that pets bring into our lives. It also hopes to raise awareness of homeless animals in shelters in order to encourage adoption! Everyone can celebrate this day by giving extra love and attention to your pets, by donating to your local shelter or rescue group, and by considering fostering or adopting a pet from shelters or rescue organizations.
For all of us who are pet lovers, we have many great stories and memories of the pets we have loved. Here are a few pet stories from our Pet Market staff and friends of The Pet Market
Joan H.
- Who Was Your First Pet? “Perky, a parakeet. My friends would bring their parakeets over and they would all fly around free on my screened porch.”
- How have pets enhanced your life? “I have Tallulah, a rescue terrier mix. I love the contact, the unconditional love. I talk to her all the time.”
Juan C.
- Who was your first pet? “My first pet was a border collie named Captain. He lived in the Dominical Republic with my aunt and he was a working dog. He was a master herder of bulls and cows. My funniest moment with Captain was when I was taking him to a pond so that I could catch crabs. We had to cross the field with bulls and cows. One of the bulls attempted to rush at me while we were walking past him. We were on top of the hill and I started running down the hill. Captain barked at the bull and the bull got scared and tripped and rolled down the hill into the pond and made a crazy splash!”
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Who is the most special pet or companion animal you’ve known? “The most special pet I have owned is Pearl, a Frenchie. She is my cuddle buddy and wants nothing else in the world but for me to pet her.”
How have pets enhanced your life?
“Pets have enhanced my life by being loyal, teaching me responsibility, and they have always been there to comfort me when I need it.”
Alex S.
- Who was your first pet? “A chihuahua named Brownie, from the beautiful island of Puerto Rico. When I trusted him to walk around the park without his leash, he ran like a mad man. Everyone was trying to stop him. Thankfully, someone stopped him after running half the park. I wish he lived longer. He only lived one year.”
- Who is the most special pet or companion animal you’ve known? “The most special pet I’ve had the privilege of knowing is my current cat, Pink! She’s so special because she has the soul of Brownie.”
- How have pets enhanced your life? “My cat gives me responsibility and joy knowing I’m taking good care of her. She feels like a daughter to me. I take great pride in her and she’s the most beautiful cat I’ve ever seen.”
Duwaun
- Who is the most special pet or companion animal you’ve known? “My current dog. Cookie is a mixture of a Yorkie and a Shih Tzu. She is special because she brings me and my family a great amount of joy. I love her.”
- How have pets enhanced your life? “Cookie has enhanced my life by bringing me great joy. Whenever I am having a bad day, I know the sight of her will brighten my day.”
Daveena
- Who Was Your First Pet? “My first pet was ‘Goldie.’ I had her since I was 7, and she passed when I was 16 – a full-breed golden retriever with the largest paws I have ever seen! She was a breath of fresh air during my teenage (defining) years. My favorite memory of her has to be when I first walked by her adoption kennel. She stared at me for about two minutes before she ran to the glass in a literal burst of energy! I asked the staff at the adoption center how no one wanted her with how bubbly and cute she was, just for them to tell me that she’s never acted like that before.”
- Who is the most special pet or companion animal you’ve known? “Hunter, my border collie. He’s a new addition to our growing family but Hunty (nickname) is one of my more clingy dogs. I’ve raised my others to be really independent, and having Hunty cling to me, as a recently registered emotional support animal, is heartwarming. I don’t have to convince him. He wants to be close!”
- How have pets enhanced your life? “All of my pets were rescued from unfavorable situations. I have them because I knew that I would be introducing them to a life where they would be showered in love and comfort. With every pet companion I adopt, my growing family learns to love each other and re-learn that there’s more love in the world than hurt, when they are with me.”
Marie M.
- Who was your first pet? “My first pet was Minx, a male Siamese, rejected from the cat show world because he’d had surgery for 2 hernias. I was three. I LOVED that cat. I would often dress him up in my doll’s clothes, but he didn’t really love the bonnets. When I would walk down the street with Minx in my doll pram, people would expect to see a pretty doll but instead he’d greet them with a hiss.”
2. Who is the most special pet or companion animal you’ve known? “Impossible question! There were so many. ‘Crazy,’ a male tuxedo cat, was funny, silly, naughty. He would stomp through my Christmas Village like Godzilla.”
3. How have pets enhanced your life? “I cannot imagine living without a pet and their unconditional love – someone to talk to, fuss over, who doesn’t criticize you (but will sometimes complain about food). A house without a pet is simply a place. With a pet, you have a home.”
I have to whole-heartedly agree with the comment that “most special pet” is impossible to answer. One of the things that I love most about our pets or companion animals is that they live in the moment. If this moment is good, life is good. I wish I could be so wise. Our pets give us so much and ask for relatively little. They have a lot to teach us, if we only listen. What’s your pet story?
“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”
– Anatole France
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I’ve been a dog lover/owner my whole life. My memories of crazy tabby cat sleeping in my bed as a five year old child and walking my black mini schnauzers , Pepe, Pierre & Francois . Pierre lived until 16 years old and died my first year of college. I’ve had eight dogs in all including current 2. Flash forward to present day; I wanted my kids to have the same joy of animals in childhood I had . I had NEVER bought an animal at a pet store I knew there were so many homeless dogs and cats that were in desperate need of a home. My kids had asked for a dog since they were little but I taught them the huge responsibility also goes with those cute fur faces so I wanted them to be a little older. When they were in middle school it was time . So in 2018 I began searching Bideawee’s website. I took a the LIRR an hour to their grounds in Westhampton, LI. I rescued a Hurricane Maria survivor from Puerto Rico, a little sweet pretty Sato ( stray from the island) and we called her Bambi. She’s is brown and white, with petite little skinny legs and very pretty light brown eyes. She was so shy and unsure after a long scary flight and who knows what else. She had a “sister” at the shelter whom we reunited her with in the dog park one day. Then in 2019 right before COVID , I went back to Bideawee to get her a buddy & my Superman Benji from Texas was brought into the family. He is hurricane survivor puppy of 3-6 month at the time as well. He’s a Lab/terrier mix now 6 years old and so handsome he gets all
type attention from neighbors , strangers but he loves his treats, food & friends from Pet Market @72nd St & 57th St best! I’m so blessed to have these two pups who have brought us through some tough times with their silly behavior , special licks and hugs. They will be always be favored in my heart because of their great comfort given to us during a time of great loss. Dogs are the Best!!!
Darci the Dancing Love Pug is an upper west side celebrity. She just loves living in NYC. But that’s not where she came from. Darci defends from the furthest part of the USA. A place called Arlington WA. Way up in the corner. At the time we were living in North Idaho. So when it was time for us to get her from the breeder, we were supposed to travel 8 hours over many mountain passes in the winter to get her. Instead, the breeder’s best friend owned a trucking company that delivered perishable items to our region. So, he put Darci on a Pizza Truck headed to Coeur D’Alene ID where we met the driver in a back alley to pick up our precious cargo that was delivered to us. Darci the Dancing Love PUG.
My newly adopted cat Wednesday is the sweetest girl! She is the perfect companion because she loves being pet and brushed and held. We are so happy together!
I grew up in a home full of pets—cats lounging in every corner, dogs keeping us on our toes, rabbits nibbling everything in sight, and birds adding background music to our lives. It was chaotic, but it was home.
My husband, on the other hand, wasn’t exactly on board with the idea of adding a pet to our life. I pushed. Then pushed some more. And eventually, during the pandemic, we brought home Cooper—a stubborn little Dachshund with a big personality.
Fast forward to now: he runs the show. Cooper has somehow negotiated his way into getting whatever he wants, whenever he wants it. We don’t even pretend to say no anymore. He’s part of the family, no question about it.
And yes—The Pet Market is his happy place.