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Many people aren't the least bit afraid to admit it: They treat their beloved pet as though it were their child. Pets give us unconditional love and improve the quality of our lives. So for this, our inaugural Pet Day section, we thought we'd ask some well known area residents, who also happen to be animal lovers, what their pet or pets mean to them. Here's what they had to say:

Carol Mollica

"My kids call me the cat woman."

Visit Wrentham Town Clerk Carol Mollica at work, and you'll get an eyeful.

Plastered all over her work space are pictures of her four kitties, Salvador, Gracie, Ono and Popio, as well as snapshots of friends and residents' best friends. Why the wall of dedication?

"People would think I'm nuts if they heard the way I talk to them, so yes, it's like they're your little kids," said Mollica, who shares cat custody with her husband Frank, a Wrentham postal worker. "I do enjoy them."

The Mollica family always had cats, but usually just one at a time. Salvador was actually their daughter's cat, left with Carol and Frank when the daughter moved to Hawaii. Gracie was Frank's father's cat, so when the father passed away, Gracie came to live with the family. When Carol's daughter came home from Hawaii, she brought Ono and Popio with her. When she moved back to Hawaii, the cats stayed in Wrentham.

"Oh they grow on you," Mollica said. "They certainly have their own personalities and idiosyncrasies."

Ono, who Carol calls the big boy, for instance, jumps into a kitchen chair when he wants to come over and watch Carol while she is cooking.

Gracie, though she's a grown cat at 9 years, still likes to chase her tail.

"They're there when you're sad, when you're happy, and they listen to you," Mollica said. "I love it."

Maryann Draine

"They're just everything to us."

Those around Attleboro City Hall say Maryann Draine is always talking about her pets. The election office administrator admits to it, reserving no enthusiasm when discussing her beloved cat Simba and German schnauzer Purtzel.

She and husband Gene have had Simba about seven years and Purtzel for nine years.

"We wanted (Purtzel) to be named something in German, and it means summersault," Draine said. "The little darling, as a puppy, summersaulted right off the counter! I said, 'That's her name.'"

Though Draine said her husband is the bigger pet lover and that she "happens to love my pets," she put all the love she had into recently caring for a sick Simba, who had what she called an "episode" the day after Christmas last year.

"It was his heart, and they had to put him on a ventilator to keep him alive, and he came back," Draine said. "Now, we see little signs of episodes, and he's on medication twice a day. Try to do with a cat. That little tongue!"

She admits it's been quite a test of love, but wouldn't have had it any other way.

"Oh my gosh, they love us, and I don't even know how to put that into words," she said. "They entertain us, they're just so funny. It's just the cat. And the dog. And the birds, and fish. If it were up to my husband, we'd have a gazillion animals everywhere."

Sherry and John Rhyno

A gift of love

Early in their marriage, John Rhyno gave his wife Sherry a Christmas gift that made her fall in love all over again.

But it wasn't with her husband.

"From the moment I held Gizmo for the first time, I was in love," Sherry said, talking about the couple's golden retriever, who has since become a true family member.

Sherry said John, a North Attleboro selectman, owned and raised several dogs who meant the world to him, while she had never had a dog of her own.

Gizmo's early days in the Rhyno household had a bit of a learning curve. Sherry took Gizmo to obedience school, which was as much training for her as it was for the dog.

"I never could have imagined how wonderful it would be to have such a warm, friendly and happy presence in our lives," Sherry said. "Giz is always delighted to be with us, always in a good mood, always ready to go for a walk, a ride, to fetch."

Highlights of times with Giz include when the pooch greets visitors to the Rhyno household - including residents dropping by for office hours - with a pillow as a token of his affection.

Sherry also brightens up thinking of how Gizmo loves to visit and cheer up ill friends and family at places like Life Care.

"He's gentle and engaging with everyone," Sherry said. "It's amazing how he has the ability to interact with people who may never have been animal lovers and will win them over. When John comes home after a long day at the garage and town hall, Gizmo greets him with unconditional love and John is rejuvenated."

Jim Purcell

"Our first family dog"

Ask those in the know in Norton who around town hall is most in love with their pet, and the answer is unanimous. At least Town Manager Jim Purcell is comfortable admitting it.

"I'm enough of a sap," Purcell said. "I've always been a dog lover, but Molly is our first family dog."

Molly, a 4-year-old pug, has been a comforting and welcome addition to Purcell's Mendon home that he shares with his wife, Virginia.

Purcell said the couple got Molly to cope with a sort of empty-nest syndrome.

"Truthfully, the wife or husband of a town manager doesn't see their spouse very often," Purcell said. "That's one of the occupational hazards I have. So Molly has been a great comfort to my wife, particularly during budget season, when I'm out late sometimes four times a week."

When the Purcells decided to get a puppy, they went quite a different way than Jim was used to, having always had bigger dogs, mostly German shepherds, in his home growing up.

"I was fascinated by pugs watching 'Men In Black.' The dog was so funny that we had a good feeling about it," Purcell said.

When Jim does get to spend some time at home with Virginia and Molly, he most enjoys Molly's enthusiastic temperment.

"She's personable and very active," he said. "We go running in the woods.

"And, she's soooo ugly that she's cute."

Kim Allard

"My children are not really babies anymore, so they (my pets) are my babies."

About 15 years ago, Kim Allard heard from a friend about an abused and neglected dog who needed a place to call home.

With an open heart, Allard opened hers to that pooch and has been doing same thing for many other dogs in need ever since.

"They couldn't take that dog, so I did," Allard, a city councilor, said. "It was kind of like this little network. Once you've done it, people will ask you."

Allard regularly takes in dogs that the Attleboro Animal Shelter is unable to keep, picking up the costs of helping abused dogs get back to health.

"I have complete faith in the shelter, but they're finances are restricted and an abused dog needs to work with a family," Allard said. "My kids have been raised around them, and I pay for it so that it isn't a burden on the city."

Right now, Allard is preparing to say goodbye to Jordan, a boxer-lab who is being adopted this month.

She also has a shepherd lab named Bear, 15, and is hosting Yorkies Cody and Laci, 2-year-old siblings. One of her own dogs, a Maltese named Muffin, passed away about three years ago.

"Other than that, I haven't (had any of her own dogs) because I've had enough come through. Bear thinks they're his babies," Allard said. "They mean a lot to me. They're always there. They make me smile at the end of a bad day. They're fabulous."