Opening Your Heart and Home to Pets
For many of us it is difficult to envision our lives without the presence of occupants in our homes of many other species beyond the humans in our families. There are the standard cats and dogs that can be found in the majority of households. Plus, the added households with fish and birds and small mammals like gerbils or reptiles like turtles or snakes or even arachnids like tarantulas. And these are just the pets you'll find inside the home. If you talk about outside pets you'll also find rabbits and horses and llamas or alpacas and sheep and goats and emus and many, many other types of furry or feathered friends.
Pets come in many shapes and sizes and colors. Some have extremely long life spans, while others are quite short. Before you decided to take the plunge and share your life with a species of animal beyond the common house pet varieties, be sure you've done extensive research on the requirements they have for care. These pets come to rely on you and your family. You don't want to wind up abandoning an animal only 1/4 of the way into its natural lifespan because you suddenly find out that the adult traits are not very desirable in your household after all.
Watching a hummingbird outside your window is one thing; teaching a parrot to speak is a different kind of delight for you or your child. Learning to care for a pet pot-belly pig or a tarantula or an iguana requires skills beyond those of a typical house pet. Since the pets are more exotic it also requires a commitment beyond that of a dog or cat as well. You can't as easily place an exotic pet in a new home if you move or tire of the effort required.