The Best Pets

I had some friends in CA that rescued a baby raccoon. They raised him, and treated him like a member of their family. His name was Rocky. I met him for the first time by accident. My friend told me to use the bathroom off her bedroom, but I hated to go into her personal space, so I went to the one in the hallway. As I was sitting there, doing what I came to do, I saw a raccoon sit up in the bathtub and look at me. Frankly, I was somewhat inebriated, and shocked and absolutely delighted. Finishing quickly, I knelt by the tub and talked to him, petting his head. He put his little arms around my neck and cuddled me! My friend came to check on me, and when she discovered where I was she said firmly, “Please, come out of there right now.” I told her I was being hugged by a raccoon and the next thing I knew she and her husband were beside me, she took my arm and led me out while her husband kept the raccoon in the tub. Rocky liked me after that, but I found out he didn’t like everyone. I saw him try to attack my friend’s brother many times, and he even bit his owners once in a great while, if upset. When I met Rocky, I had no fear of him, I felt enchanted by his sweet face. I think that’s why he liked me, and hugged me instead of biting me for waking him up – he had been sound asleep on his bed in the tub – which had been my friend’s fear. Rocky was as tame as he could be, but still not harmless.

One of my coworkers rescued a very young injured opossum and nursed it back to health. She kept the animal, took great care of it, dealt with its special diet, and loved it. Unfortunately, the opossum’s life span is only about 3 years, and despite her best efforts, it passed away after about a year.

I think it’s kind of cruel to try to keep wild animals as pets, personally, because you have to make them live in a way that’s unnatural to them, which could be considered selfish. I know some animals need human help because they can no longer survive in the wild. And animals, even wild ones, can truly love their humans.

Domesticated pets are typically cats and dogs. I like dogs because of their loving personality and ability to be trained. I like cats because of their antics, independent personality and ability to purr.

Whatever pet we choose, the most important thing is that we are prepared to care for them their entire life, and love them.