SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT ‘PETS”

If you’ve never had a pet and think now may be the time to acquire one, consider a shelter dog or cat. There are lots of animals in this world that need homes but some are better left outside or in the wild. These are critters that I have handled or in the case of the house chicken I have owned  and I can truthfully say they make very  “iffy” companions.

CHILEAN ROSE HAIR TARANTULA - a BIG spider but the tamest of the lot- so I hear.  You can hold one, but just don’t drop it. They definitely don’t bounce.  Wikipedia says their bite is painful but not fatal.  Small boys seem to be entranced with this many legged lady. I held one and she walked down the palm of my hand and onto my other hand held beneath her.  She was so  “furry” she looked like a Halloween spider except she was brown, not black.

RACCOON-  These guys look like bandits.  I worked for an animal rehabilitation center some years ago and raccoons were our most common orphans.  We fed them with baby bottles and wanted to take them home because they were so cute.  But they can be really destructive as house pets.  Unless your house is a wreck to begin with, don’t even consider it.  

Photo credit:Saff's Photography / Foter / CC BY

PYTHON- These are the really big snakes that are loose in Florida and creating havoc with the natural wildlife.  I had this yellow female draped around my neck.  I didn’t know they came in “yellow”.  She was referred to as a "designer" snake.   She felt like an exceptionally long elegant purse, and apparently someone dropped her off after realizing she was getting bigger than they anticipated.

HOUSE CHICKEN-  Chickens are fun to raise outside but indoors is something else.  I had this hen for 8 years and she lived in my house.  Fortunately I didn’t have many rugs.  I had to run after her with a roll of paper towels!  I had to block off the stairway after she figured out how to walk upstairs.  She’d jump from step to step.  My dogs and cats put up with her but she was constantly stealing their food.  She was a one-time different pet and a real conversation piece. I was in tears when I had to euthanize her.  At 8 she was really old for a chicken.

Photo credit: ~Liliana / Foter / CC BY-NC

ALLIGATOR- Some people do keep these scaly critters as pets.  The one I handled was a juvenile and didn’t look pleased to be held up and “admired”.  Like pythons when these reptiles are young there’s a certain fascination about them, but they grow fast and then you’ve got a BIG reptile living in your bathtub!

PARROT-  My grandfather had one of these guys.  Actually she was a girl named Polly (what else) They have a long life span and if you acquire one that’s relatively young it’s best to make provisions for it in your will.  The odds are it will out live you! As I recall the recipient wasn’t too pleased to suddenly become the proud owner of a very cantankerous bird. For all I know Polly is still among the living.

Photo credit: Rodger McCutcheon / Foter / CC BY




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Thanks for stopping by!

Joan