People have a need to care for
something and to be appreciated for their efforts. The best things
for this are pets. Pets don't care if you're a CEO or janitor
and they don't care if you're fat, thin, rich, or good-looking.
They don't even care what kind of a home you live in. They just love
you for your pats on the head and a little food in their
dish.
There are all types of pets. People take on virtually every
type of spider, snake, rodent, fish, insect, and animal as a pet or
pets. The type of pet that you own can be said to reflect on
your personality. What type of person would you expect to own an
alligator as opposed to one who owns a Poodle? We are known to
project our personalities and desires onto our pets in the names
that we give them. What would you expect a cat named Cuddles to do?
Sometimes this shows up in a kind of reverse psychology like we are
laughing at ourselves. Pet names are selected to help us as we
attempt to turn a creature into a human
being. Animals don't care if they are named Toad or
Fluffy. They, hopefully, learn to recognize the sound along with
whether they are supposed to come or stop doing what they are doing
depending upon the tone that the sound is heard in.
This is not to say that animals don't have personalities and
feelings, but most often a pet's personality is learned from the
humans who own it. Through trial and error, they learn how to get
the desired results by expressing their feelings in a certain way. A
dog that has just gone to the bathroom on the floor may whimper up
to you to avoid being yelled at or swatted on the rear. They have
learned how to do this by doing it before and what they are
expressing is not sorrow. It's fear. If you want a happy and loving
animal as a pet, be happy and loving. This doesn't always work
because of physical differences in animals. They also, depending on
the physical characteristics, generate different
amounts of chemicals that cause their brains to function
differently. One Doberman may appear happy and playful while
another one may appear high strung and nervous. The best chance for
you to have a nice pet, though, is to be nice yourself. Don't expect
a pet to run up to you wagging its tail if you abuse it.
If you are the type of person that likes to own a snake or spider
as a pet, realize that these are very basic creatures. They know how
to run, fight, and eat. They don't learn to like you. They learn not
to be afraid of you and, if you're not careful all of the time, you
will be bitten when something, known only to them, instinctively
tells them to bite. It's never a personal issue so don't think that
they did it because they got mad or they don't like you.
Pets will give you hours of entertainment, happiness, joy love,
and comfort while fulfilling some need that you have. Don't take on
a pet if you don't plan to take care of it. Once you
have one, it is dependent upon you for its existence. It will
give you what you need and be happy with what you give it.