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 For many families their pets are part of their family. You spend tons of money to keep your dog, cat, or other family pet happy and comfortable. What happens if you become unable to care for your pet due to death or severe disability? Learn how to make sure your beloved pet is taken care of if you are unable to do so.
A pet or companion animal is an animal kept for companionship and enjoyment, as opposed to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful characteristics, for their attractive appearance, or for their song. Pets also generally seem to provide their owners with non-trivial health benefits; keeping pets has been shown to help relieve stress to those who like having animals around. There is now a medically-approved class of "therapy animals," mostly dogs, who are brought to visit confined humans. Walking a dog can provide both the owner and the dog with exercise, fresh air, and social interaction. While in theory any animal might be a pet, in practice only a small number of species of mammals (especially dogs and cats) and other small animals, such as birds, fish, or lizards, are practical. One reason for this is that large animals are not able to fit inside small dwellings.
In general, a pet must either be small enough (or easily controlled) for his or her undesirable behavioral tendencies to be negligible, or the animal must be actually domestic able. Examples of the former are such animals as fish (including carnivorous ones such as piranha), chickens, invertebrates or small mammals. A few animals are sufficiently capable of adapting to human interaction to be considered domestic able. Dogs who is know to "man's best friend" are considered to be a classic example of domesticated animals normally suited to being pets. Domestic dogs are quite similar to wolves, but their physical form and behavior are characteristically different, more than mere differences in size, coat, or coloring. Behaviorally speaking, characteristic changes in dogs due to domestication include a prolonged infancy, increased playfulness, and increased barking. Wolves are far less playful and vocal. A pet can be acquired from a pet store, animal shelter, a breeder, and from private transactions, typically due to the giving away of extra newborns after the birth of a litter. Because of environmental and public safety concerns, some pets are illegal in many areas.
In veterinary medicine, dogs and cats are often considered "household" pets, while all other animals are grouped into either "farm animals" such as horses, cows, or sheep or "exotics" including pocket pets, birds, and reptiles. Many cities and towns have local ordinances limiting the number of pets a person may have, and may also restrict or forbid certain pets such as fowl or exotics.
The cities of Berkeley, California and Boulder, Colorado have passed laws stating that people who have pets do not "own" them; rather, they are the pet's "guardian."
Condominium associations and rental properties often ban animals because of the smells and noise the animals create. Pets have the ability to stimulate their caregivers, in particular the elderly, giving people someone to take care of, someone to exercise with, and someone to help them heal from a physically or psychologically troubled past. Having a pet may help people achieve health goals, such as lowered blood pressure, or mental goals, such as decreased stress. There appears to be strong evidence that having a pet can help a person lead a longer, healthier life.
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