When I was growing up, if you had a pet, it was probably a dog, cat, or bird. Baby chicks were popular at Christmas and Easter, goldfish and baby turtles were also popular pets. In my semi-rural neighborhood, we sometimes temporarily kept the large box turtles that lived around our local streams. My father kept a tank of colorful tropical fish, and we had a pair of canaries (but that's another story). As you know, Agnes and I have a dog. Punky is a Black Lab/Rottweiler mix who is very old, very gentle, and very laid back...just the right sort of pet for a busy couple like us.
But there are other sorts of pets, and they're not all cuddly.
This morning's USA Today newspaper had a front-page article about giant Burmese pythons - enormous snakes that can grow up to 20 feet long, weigh as much as 250 pounds, and are now found wild across the southern United States and the coast of Virginia. They found their way to the U.S. as exotic pets, and entered the wild when their owners suddenly realized that 20-foot, 250 pound pythons probably weren't a good choice of pet for small apartments or homes with small children.
Pets are a good way of teaching children responsibility. Unfortunately (for the pets) some people irresponsibly seek out "exotic" pets - large snakes, Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, tarantulas, tigers, or whatever. They want pets that are conversation pieces, a way to attract attention, show off, or outdo the neighbors in conspicuous consumption. By the time they realize that these animals are completely unsuitable as house pets, it's too late...they're stuck with living creatures no one wants. The solution? Take them out into the country and dump them to fend for themselves.
And so we have a problem with Burmese pythons. The problem also exists with alien plant species, but at least the plants usually don't attack you once they've gone wild.
Here in Northern Virginia we have a problem with poisonous copperheads (makes tending my herb garden an adventure), but at least we haven't seen any pythons yet. Thank goodness.
Want a pet? Get a dog. Or a cat, so that my dog will have something to chase.
But please leave the pythons...the copperheads are bad enough.
Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.
Bilbo
I've never figured out snakes as pets. It's bad enough (or sad enough) when owners dump dogs or cats in the country. Over the years we've adopted dogs and cats (or they've adopted us) that have been dumped when owners can't keep them or don't want them. Some we've taken to live shelters. Currently, we're down to just one adopted cat. Chris insisted we keep him when he started killing the snakes in the landscaping!
ReplyDeleteMax the dog.
ReplyDeleteWhat a coincidence. I just posted about us getting super Z his first pet...and I assure you, it is NOT a snake, or a rat, or a spider, or a monkey...
ReplyDeleteSnakes. Not the pet you want to have if you have hamsters!
ReplyDeleteI don't understand snakes as pets either.....what is so lovable about them? Why would you want to nurture one in your home? They must be the wildest of wild animals with no compassion or feelings towards anything.
ReplyDeleteObviously...I'm not a snake lover.