OPINION: Like most 21st century parents, my social media is littered with pictures of my babies – doing cute things, doing naughty things and throwbacks to when they were smaller, even cuter and much naughtier.

The difference is, my babies have fur. But I learned this week, via an angry blogger, that calling them my "fur babies" is a source of extreme annoyance, nay an insult, to breeders of actual babies. It insinuates, apparently, that pets are akin to children and that pet owners know as much as parents about raising a child.

A quick google search tells me my vernacular has been p****** baby makers off left, right and centre: this humourless blogger is apparently not alone.

Nadine Higgins hits the road with her "fur baby", Rico, that has completely turned her life upside down.

So, let me ruffle those precious feathers just a little more.

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When Rico, my three-and-a-half-year-old german shepherd, turned up, he turned my life upside down. Suddenly, I was responsible for someone other than myself, my existence was no longer completely selfish and I had no idea what I was doing. I joined Facebook discussion groups, took him to group activities and worried I wasn't doing a good enough job.

CHRIS McKEEN/FAIRFAX NZ Nadine Higgins: Anyone uptight enough to be offended by the phrase "fur babies" – get a grip. Or better yet, get a dog.

Daddy's home A post shared by Ed Sheeran (@teddysphotos) on Feb 18, 2014 at 10:10am PST

With our new bundle of joy came many sleepless nights, then the toilet training – and while he's never worn nappies I do have to deal with his (copious amounts of) poo. He, in return, never lets me visit the toilet alone.

He can't talk, but sometimes he backchats. He understands about 50 words – about the same number as a toddler and sometimes, like a toddler, he chooses not to hear them.

Twinsssssssssss ❤❤❤❤❤ A post shared by Cara Delevingne (@caradelevingne) on Mar 12, 2017 at 8:30am PDT

Occasionally, he even has a little tantrum, like when you won't let him finish the cat's dinner.

I despair at the way he regularly destroys my clean, tidy house in two minutes flat and when he can't sleep, no one in the house does.

Missing my baby A post shared by Amber Heard (@amberheard) on Jun 7, 2017 at 8:08pm PDT

We've tried to bring him up right – to teach him to play nicely with others, to never ever bite, to not discriminate due to size or colour.

I bath him, brush him, feed him and cuddle him. I spoil him, I discipline him when he's naughty and my heart bursts with pride when I see what a gentle giant he is with my friends' kids. When I'm away from him I show pictures to any poor sucker who will listen and I rue how fast the years are passing. So, you see, he does feel like my fur baby.

Happy Valentines Day!!! A post shared by Zooey Deschanel (@zooeydeschanel) on Feb 14, 2014 at 10:41am PST

Let's be serious though: that doesn't demean your experience of raising a human. I am aware that he has four legs, fur, and is not the product of my ovaries. He doesn't have my eyes or my husband's sense of humour. He will never utter the word "mama", borrow the car without asking or look after me in my dotage (or shove me in a rest home).

#TrueLove A post shared by Liam Hemsworth (@liamhemsworth) on Oct 26, 2015 at 11:40am PDT

But my love for him is real, and reciprocated, and given that love, I look forward to what I might experience with a baby I do grow inside of me.

Tank snuggles during a ☔️ break! 🐶 🦄🐴 A post shared by @normancook on May 11, 2017 at 1:15pm PDT

In the meantime, to anyone uptight enough to be offended by the phrase "fur babies" – get a grip. Or better yet, get a dog.

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