I didn't see the advantages and small pets
When I was a kid, I always wanted to have a pet. My parents didn't like animals, but I loved them. I imagine having a Husky or a Great Dane - a huge dog that I could wrestle with and take along on camping trips. I imagined that as soon as I moved out of the house, I would get a huge, powerful animal that would scare off anyone who wanted to challenge him. Back then, I didn't see the advantages and small pets. I thought bigger was better.
Nowadays, I see things differently. Having a big dog is fine if you live out in the wilds of Montana or someplace like that. Living in a small New York apartment as I do, however, you quickly come to realize the advantages of having a small pet. I am amazed every day by the number of people who have oversized dogs crammed into undersized apartments. Those animals must be miserable! And miserable animals make for miserable owners.
Personally, I am a big fan of small lizard pets. Small lizards are not only easy to fit into your apartment, but they are low maintenance as well. Even a small dog will get cabin fever locked up for too long. Reptilian small pets, on the other hand, are perfectly content to lie around on a rock and stare off as long as they get something to eat now and then.
For kids, fish make some of the best small pets. The big reason for this is that a fish can't get away. If you're working with really little kids, you don't want to get them something that will be too big a responsibility. A cat or a dog, or even a mouse, might be a bad idea unless your kid is very mature. With small fish pets, however, the kid can probably handle it. As long as he or she changes the water regularly and feeds the fish often enough, nothing should go wrong.
Of course, some people make dogs or cats work very well as small pets. I
have some friends in the city who have small dogs that they walk every day. If they are going to be gone for more than eight hours at a time, they make sure to have a friend come over or a professional dog walker to take care of the animal. It requires a lot of organization, but it can be done. It certainly improves the quality of their lives!
