Tuesday, November 26, 2013

PET chapter I

A pet (or companion animal) is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or protection, as opposed to working animals, sport animals, livestock, and laboratory animals, which are kept primarily for performance, agricultural value, or research. The most popular pets are noted for their attractive appearances and their loyal or playful personalities.
Pets commonly provide their owners (or guardians) physical and emotional benefits. Walking a dog can supply both the human and pet with exercise, fresh air, and social interaction. Pets can give companionship to elderly adults who do not have adequate social interaction with other people. There is a medically approved class of therapy animals, mostly dogs, that are brought to visit confined humans. Pet therapy utilizes trained animals and handlers to achieve specific physical, social, cognitive, and emotional goals with patients.

The most popular pets are likely dogs and cats, but people also keep house rabbits; rodents such as gerbils, hamsters, chinchillas, fancy rats, and guinea pigs; avian pets, such as canaries, parakeets, and parrots; reptile pets, such as turtles, lizards and snakes; aquatic pets, such as tropical fish and frogs; and arthropod pets, such as tarantulas and hermit crabs.

Some scholars and animal rights organizations have raised concern over pet-keeping with regards to the autonomy of nonhuman animals.
 
Etymology
Originally from Northern English and Scots dialects, origin is unsure but may have arisen due to influence of petty pertaining to children and later companion animals. Almost certainly of Germanic etymology.

Noun
pet (plural pets)
 1.An animal kept as a companion.
 2.One who is excessively loyal to a superior.
 3.Any person or animal especially cherished and indulged; a darling.

Common types
While many people have kept many different species of animals in captivity over the course of human history, only a relative few have been kept long enough to be considered domesticated. Other types of animals, notably monkeys, have never been domesticated but are still commonly sold and kept as pets. There are also inanimate objects that have been kept as "pets", either as a form of game, or humorously (e.g. the pet rock or Chia pet).

Domesticated
Domesticated pets are the most common types of pet. A domesticated animal is any animal that has been tamed and made fit for a human environment. They have consistently been kept in captivity over a long enough period of time that they exhibit marked differences in behavior and appearance from their wild relatives.
Mammals
 Alpacas
 Asses including miniature donkeys
 Cats
 Dogs
 Sheep
 Horses
 Goats
 Elephants
 Rodents including Fancy rats, Fancy mice, Hamsters, Guinea pigs, and Chinchillas
 Ferrets
 Llamas
 Pigs
 Rabbits

Birds
 Domestic Canary
 Chickens
 Domestic turkeys
 Domestic ducks and geese
 Domestic Pigeons and Doves

Fish
 Goldfish
 Koi
 Siamese fighting fish

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