Everyone has a pet story. Either you’ve had three cats and two dogs in your household since you were three. Or your parents are allergic to fur and you’ve had a lizard since childhood. Maybe by some strange happening, you lived on a farm and you’ve bonded with the shyest cow in the barn. Or maybe you’re hiding a pet python in your room and hope your mom won’t go in there to clean anytime soon.

Whichever it is, you’ve got to admit how strange it is that we live alongside animals. While we have to go to school, have a job and a circle of friends, their brightest moment is having us come home in the evening. As for us, as for all the other things in our lives, sometimes coming home to our pets is the highlight of our day too. That’s reason enough to be good to them. But here are 10 other reasons:

1. Be good to them because you promised to take care of them and protect them. They don't have anyone else.

2. They’re nonjudgmental. They won’t tell your parents you broke their favorite vase just so long as you don’t tell them that they’re been sleeping on the couch.

3. Cuddling with a pet instantly makes your day better. If your cat shows affection towards you, you’re basically the chosen one.

4. Sometimes they’re the only ones who can coax a smile out of you. Bad days get lighter the moment your pet does something silly or cute.

5. The little sounds and wiggles when they’re asleep. Enough said.

6. They instinctually know when you’re in need of some love; you never have to ask or explain like you do with people.

7. They’re excited about life like when you were a 5-year-old who still had dreams and happiness within you. Pets age, but they never grow up.

8. You develop a quiet sort of routine together. It’s like having a roommate but they're less annoyance and passive aggressiveness.

9. They instantly become part of the family. Your dad was super against getting a dog, but two weeks in, they’re napping on the couch together.

10. Be good to them because you’re going to miss them when they’re gone. No one lives forever, and pets aren’t an exception. You don’t really realize how much of a presence they become in your life until they’re gone, so look ahead and value the little troublemakers and cuddle-buddies you have.