Ummm...not to enter into a controversy...but you could almost say the same thing about people with dogs, horses, or cats. I like the dogs and horses themselves, but don't always care for the owners. I haven't met a cat owner I didn't like. We're always proud of our own "kid".
Ah, but you can always say "Sorry, I'm allergic to animals!" and usually be met with understanding.
I have to say though, I'd be really surprised if I went to a grocery store or doctor's and had someone trying to show off their cute pony to me.
What I'm getting at, is for a good chunk of situations where people have animals, you're in that place because you like animals too. Like if I went to a playground and some mom said "There's my kid, aren't they cute?" I'd be expecting that because well, it's a location where there's lots of kids. If I went to a barn and someone wanted to show off their horse, I'd be expecting that.
If however, I'm trying to do some reading or whatever and someone comes over intent on intruding to show off their kid, that's unreasonable. I find it pretty lame that someone has to do something like that (and I would find it pretty annoying if someone had a pet that they were doing it with) it's like saying "Lookit me, I'm SPECIAL because I have a ____!" If I was interested in babies, I'd have started talking to a person with the baby when they sat down, I wouldn't need a blatant "invitation" like that. Ditto with animals, and for sure, I WOULD start up a conversation if it were an animal.
