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EXCLUSIVE: PETA Discourages Octo-Mom From Buying a Pet
Tuesday April 28, 2009

Nadya Suleman
Nadya Suleman aka Octomom sighting at Ralph's on April 22, 2009 in Whittier, California.
Jason Mitchell/BuzzFoto/FilmMagic

Octo-Mom Nadya Suleman is thinking about buying a pet, but PETA doesn't think a new member of the family is such a good idea for the mother of 14 children.

"In today's uncertain economy -- and with all the demands that come with raising 14 children -- we urge you to reconsider adding two more dependents to your family," PETA's Michelle Cho wrote in a letter to Suleman.

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The unemployed mother of 14 -- who relies on public assistance to pay for her eight nannies -- said last week that she was considering adding a pet to the mix.

"For a couple of years, the kids have been asking for a dog," Suleman said. "I've actually been looking into a pig, like a little one."

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(Suleman's attorney, Jeff Czech, told Usmagazine.com that the pet would be "probably a dog -- probably a Shih Tzu.")

PETA, the world's largest animal rights organization with more than 2 million members, hopes Suleman will reconsider.

"Like children, pigs and dogs are intelligent, social beings with complex needs," Cho wrote in the letter, given exclusively to Us "They require a lot of attention, space, and exercise as well as a huge financial commitment."

Suleman said that if she were to buy a pig, it would wear a diaper and live outside the family's $564,000 La Habra, Calif. home because of its smell.

Meet Nadya Suleman's octuplets.

"Keeping a pig outside and making him or her a playmate for your children -- who do not understand a pig's many needs and will only pay attention to him or her when it suits them -- is not an acceptable way to treat an intelligent animal such as this," Cho wrote.

Instead of new pets, PETA encourages the mom to help her children make friends.

"We hope that your recent move to your new home will allow your children to form fast friendships with kids in your neighborhood with whom they share similar interests," Cho wrote.

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