I'm not trying to start a fight here of who is better. Every couple makes their own decision whether they wanto have children. I totally understand that. My hubby & I went 11 yrs w/o kids & I thought we'd be just fine w/or w/O kids. Didn't matter. But here's my question.

I have a very close friend whose been married over 24-25 yrs....long time. No kids. They have animals. Last wk an animal got lose & didn't come home. This is an Indoor, mostly animal & knew it was lost. So a massive search went on for over a week. Driving around. Walking fields in the middle of the night. Posters. Everything you could imagine!
They said it was like losing a child. This was their child & they'd do anything to get their child back including spending $$ on wild options.
I have issues w/ this comparison. I'm a huge pet person myself & we've always had several pets at once. I can understand the attachment, the heartache. But to compare it to a child.....

My friend said the animal would always look at her w/ such adoration. I can understand those moments gazing at my child, but also those looks from my kids that makes them like a monster & wonder if that kid is actually mine! Lol.
Am I just being unkind to think this shouldn't be compared? I certainly wouldn't say, "well you have no idea what it's like bec you don't have kids..." But this did rub me the wrong way.
Your thoughts?