People like to keep animals as pets. Caring for an animal involves time and commitment. Becoming a responsible pet owner means learning how much is involved before getting an animal as a pet. After getting a pet, some people become overwhelmed with the many needs of that animal. At that time, they leave the pet at a shelter. Many shelters are now filled with exotic and non-traditional pets that people could not care for. Please think carefully before getting a pet.
For example, baby snakes and lizards are cute when they are small. However, when they become six-foot adults, snakes and lizards can become scary. In addition, for some strange reason, some people want to have a tiger or leopard for a pet. Most of these animals are too dangerous to keep.
One of the best places to get a pet is from an animal shelter. Animals left at shelters are usually trained and are accustomed to people. For a particular breed of animal, buy from a responsible, accredited breeder instead of from a pet store or over the Internet. When buying from a pet store, make sure that the store is following local health and animal laws. Many animals obtained from non-accredited sources are sick and require intensive and expensive care.
What some people do instead of keeping a pet is “adopting” (sponsoring) a rare wild animal. They support the care of a particular animal that is being rehabilitated. For example, Sirenian International (SI) has a list of manatee and dugong “ambassadors and orphans” that people can help sponsor. People feel that they can still have a connection but do not have to care directly for the animal.
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Drawing of “Game Room 1” copyrighted by Mary Ann Sterling
Va. Carper
March 3, 2003