What IS a Pet?

pet¹   n. 1.  An animal kept for amusement or companionship.  2. An object of the affections. 3. A person especially loved or indulged; a favorite: the teacher's pet.

(The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Animals have been the companions and confidants of humans for millennia… they have been pictured on cave walls as hunting companions, carved in semi-precious stone and revered as deities, immortalized in verse and portrait.  The vast majority of world leaders through history, both famous and infamous, have had beloved pets; some of these pets took on celebrity status as great as their owners'.  Entire books have been written about presidential pets, and a well-known series of pet reference books includes a sidebar of celebrities who own each particular species.  For those who love their pet, a pet is not an animal – it is a confidante, a defender, a child surrogate, a best friend.

But what IS a pet, really?

When it comes to defining pets (though some prefer the term "companion animals"), personal definition is as broad and varied as the official line.  For some, a pet needs to be a domestic or tame creature that will interact with its human companions and display mutual affection and a desire for continued contact.  Dogs, cats, many birds, most small mammals, and some reptiles fit this bill.  For others, a pet is any creature under human care – it doesn't matter what sort, or if the animal shows any particular recognition of the presence of humans or not.  In this sense, caretakers often take greater pleasure observing their charges than actively interacting with them.  Most fish, amphibians, reptiles, insects, and arachnids fall into this category.

For me, I tend to think of a pet as an animal with a face that will look directly at me with some hint of recognition when I approach it, who won't flee from my attentions.  My late, beloved classroom Betta, Spike, would swim to the side of his tank to look at me whenever I entered the room; Spike, in my opinion, definitely met the criteria for "pet."  Marge, the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach a former student of mine was so fond of, didn't appear to have a face, wouldn't look directly at her owner, and didn't seem overly fond of being picked up and handled.  She didn't meet my criteria – though she clearly met his. Vive la difference!

Pets go through fads… most dog lovers either eagerly anticipate or sneer at the annual American Kennel Club ranking of the most popular dog breeds (and in this, those who sneer may be in the majority – over half of all pet dogs in America are mixed breeds).  Exotic pets appear on the scene, then fade… there was a time when one could walk into a pet store and walk out with a monkey, alligator, or lion cub; these days, strict laws regulate many exotic pets, though new species arrive yearly.  In recent times, the Australian Sugar Glider, the African Pygmy Hedgehog, the Vietnamese Potbellied Pig, and American Prairie Dogs and Southern Flying Squirrels have all – at least temporarily- been billed as the latest in "trendy pets."

It's interesting to note that during a certain point in the 1970s, a number of Mexican beach rocks were considered the ultimate trendy pet.  To each his own – in many respects, a pet is what you make it.

This blog is dedicated to a particular sort of pet - the companion animals who inhabit our classrooms.  In proper circumstances, and with particularly understanding administrators, they enrich the learning environment of both teacher and student, reducing stress and enhancing the educational process.  In less than ideal circumstances, they are poster children for animal misery, kept in habitats too small, too filthy, too hot or too cold.  Their needs as unique species, different from the needs of the touchy-feely primates who seem to rule things, are overlooked.  And, in far too many situations, they are disposed of - given away to students, "surrendered" to shelters (though this term rankles, as it implies a reluctance on the part of the callous human) - when their usefulness or cuteness has passed.  Their lives are, too often, far shorter than they ought to be.

What follows in posts was my exit project for my Master's of Arts in Teaching - it was supposed to be a manuscript for a book, but the publishing world being what it is, no takers presented themselves.  In dusting off the manuscript, updating the info, and augmenting the original text, I'm hoping to be able to provide a resource for my fellow teachers still lucky enough to have pets in their classrooms - for better or worse, they are becoming an endangered species.  Who knows, if enough interest is generated, I may go the eBook route and give publication another try.