As a hopeful future recipient of the "Parent of the Year" award, perhaps I shouldn't announce this to the world, but I can't resist. My toddler was enjoying a cup of milk this morning. This cup wasn't a sippy cup, it was a big-girl cup! No barrier between beverage and sweet lips today, and yes this big day has been noted in my family scrapbook.

My cat, Yoshi, has a keen eye and nose for his dairy product of choice. He trailed my toddler around the house, raising his paw towards the cup whenever he was able to catch up to her little size 5 feet. Suddenly, my daughter poured the cup of milk onto the end table in the living room, where she and Yoshi simultaneously started licking up the cold, white beverage on separate sides of the table (thankfully). Instead of scooping up my toddler, I grabbed my camera. Any thoughts of feline germs were put on hold until my laughter subsided.

Many toddlers are entranced by animals. It's hard to resist puppy breath or a dog's perky ears atop a head of soft fur. Whether it's a playful kitten or a cat who purrs too loudly, pets are attention-grabbing little souls. And when pets do attract a toddler's admiration, most know how to sit back and receive the love bestowed upon them.

Twenty-one-month-old Felicia from Baton Rouge, La. shares her dinner nightly with the family's fully-registered mutt, Ginger. "Last night I served beef stew with carrots and potatoes," says Felicia's mother, Dana. "Felicia ate the beef and carrots, but each time she picked up a potato, she licked at it, made a face, then fed it to Ginger."

Shelby, a Rottweiler/Shepherd mix is a four-legged companion to Samantha, a toddler who lives in Chula Vista, Calif. Samantha misses her buddy Shelby when she is put in the garage at night, but they are usually together during Shelby's mealtime. Samantha likes to feed Shelby. Her mother, Becky, says, "There is a cup in the dog food bag Samantha uses to pour the food in the dish. However, if she had her way, she would feed Shelby every morsel of dog food one by one." When she sees her dog eat, Samantha points, laughs and stomps her feet. She is a prime example of how even a toddler can learn to share the responsibility that comes with having a pet.

Toddlers can clean up after mealtime, as little Jennifer has shown her mother, Chris. "Bear" is a white cat with a blackish-brown spot that covers the top of his head and ears. He has a big spot on one side of his body, and his tail looks like a raccoon's. "When I put Bear's canned food on a plate, Jennifer has to be the one to put it on the floor for him," Chris says. "When the cat is done, Jennifer will pick up the empty plate and put it in the sink."

"Walkie, Walkie" were Emma's first words. The toddler from Cleveland, Ohio loves to help her father take her two dogs, Cassie and Cinnamon, for a walk. With three brothers in the home, it is a special time for Emma to have her daddy all to herself (along with the lucky dogs). Emma understands how important it is to exercise dogs daily, and their nightly ritual is a special one.

"Pets truly are family members, and as such, give and take equal amounts of love and compassion," says Sally J. Buckalew of PETsMART Charities, an organization that helps pets find families. "We care for them and treat them with respect, and in return, they teach us a valuable lesson in life -- how to be responsible, loving and caring,"

Toddlers who learn to be gentle, kind and affectionate with a pet are later able to apply those feelings towards people, explains Buckalew, who has adopted several homeless cats over the years, thus saving the lives of those cats as well as teaching animal care and responsibility to her sons as they were growing up. Her sons now attend college out of state and look forward to weekend and holiday family gatherings. "Family," of course, includes the cats.

My own house is home to more than twice as many pets as people. My toddler knows how to hand-feed lettuce to an iguana, brush a dog, make three cats purr, watch chinchillas take a dust bath, hop faster than three rabbits and sing along with two parakeets. There is never a dull or quiet moment in our house. There is always a cage to clean, a dish to fill and a pet to love and praise.