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It is very important to have a pet at home. And it absolutely does not matter, what kind of animal it is. It can be: a cat, a dog, a hamster, a parrot or even a gold fish.
Cats and dogs are the most popular pets in many countries. People who live in flats prefer to keep cats, because there is no need to walk them every day. Cats are very compact animals, they like to lie on people’s laps and even in beds. I love cats because they are warm and fluffy. Cats let us stroke them and often purr with pleasure. For me cats are the most incredible and mystic animals. [9]
It is very interesting that nowadays people have exotic pets, such as spiders, cockroaches, snakes and frogs. But one has got to be a real professional. Otherwise the animals will die or do harm to somebody [4, 14].
The aim of the work is to learn what are the most unusual pets of the residents of Komsomolsky countryside?
The object of the work is Unusual pets.
The problems of the research are:
- to learn the reasons of keeping pets;
- to learn the kinds of usual and unusual pets (including Komsomolsky country);
- to learn about the difficulties while keeping pets;
- to make a questionnaire survey among pupils at my school;
- to analyze the collected material and make a conclusion.
The topic of my research is popular today because millions of people keep pets and take care about them.
Most people like animals and pets. But you can’t keep any animals as a pet even if you like him very much. Can a crocodile make be a good pet? Or a lion, or a tiger, or a bear? You may love them, but will they love you? Some day when they are big they may become dangerous [3, 156].
Part I Reasons of keeping pets
1.1 Usual pets
Many Russian families have a pet – especially where there are children. Common pets in Russian are cats and dogs, but also rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, birds (such as budgies) and goldfish. There are fewer exotic pets, as these are often expensive. It’s not a secret that pets make us happy [4, 25].
People keep pets for various reasons:
- Some of them feel lonely and want to have a living being beside them;
- The others earn money raising popular breeds of cats and dogs;
- There are also special cases like having a dog to protect your house or to help the blind;
- picking up sick animals and taking care of them;
- But the majority enjoy pets just because they are real fun. It is great to have such an active and always ready to play friend;
- Besides it is an open secret that animals can cure people for many illnesses; [8]
Dogs, cats, hamsters, rats, parrots, fish, guinea pigs are considered to make good pets and are still favourite ones, because they are rather easy to look after, quite cheap to keep, and they get attached to their masters indeed [4] (see full text. Appendix 1).
People who own pets have been known to lead longer and happier lives than those without them. The more inactive we become, the higher our risk of death. We therefore need something in our lives to keep us busy so we don’t die prematurely, and a pet is just the thing to do it. This is probably because of the companionship, exercise, and responsibility that they provide. On the other hand, you must find a pet that is compatible with you or with your life style. Sure, pets need much care. You must keep the place where they sleep and eat tidy and clean, you must give them three meals a day. Dogs need more attention and care than cats. You must take then for walks at least two times a day [1, 12].
1.2 Unusual pets
Nowadays it’s very popular to have exotic pets. They can be snakes, crocodiles, snails, mini pigs, spiders, mini horses, cockroaches, chameleons, ants, lemurs, hedgehogs, raccoons and others [10].
Many professionals, including veterinarians and zoologists strongly discourage the keeping of exotic animals as pets, as their needs may be difficult to meet by the average owner. Providing appropriate environmental conditions, housing and diet for an exotic animal may be rather difficult. Secondly, unlike cats and dogs, exotic animals have not been domesticated and remain wild. Even if they are raised by humans, they may be unpredictable, aggressive and dangerous, especially as full-grown adults [4, 10].
It’s difficult to answer why people keep exotic pets. Because the reasons are different and it mostly depends on the kind of an exotic pet. For example, people who keep:
- Ferrets are playful, active, sociable, yet they say, not get bored with them! However, the ferret will require plenty. That’s why they’re suitable for people who are lonely and ready to give their love;
- Spiders are not too capricious to care. This is for people who don’t have much free time but anyway want to have a pet.
- Reptiles, often contain turtles (water and land), chameleons, iguanas, snakes, etc., is much more demanding of the environmental conditions and food than other Pets. Most of them will not be able to live “in the open pasture” or “box”, and will require apartments in a terrarium [4, 99].(Appendix 2)
However, some people say that having an exotic pet is funny and “cool”. They are fond of showing their pets to their friends and relatives who cannot stop admiring these rare animals. To conclude, most countries have the laws that forbid people to keep exotic animal as pets.
1.3 My pets
My family and I love animals very much. I have got a cat and three exotic pets: a Guinea pig and two African snails. My mum loves our guinea pig and a cat, but I love my snails.
Last year a mother brought me two little snails. They were 5 mm. Their names are Turbo and Star. These snails are very curious and interesting. Turbo and Star live in an aquarium. There is a special ground in it.
My snails like to swim. When they have a bath they stick out of the neck and move their horns.
They like to eat vegetables and fruit, but most of all they like cucumbers. Once they have eaten the whole pelmen (meat dumpling).
Our snails laid eggs many times, but unfortunately no one hatched.
In the afternoon, Turbo and Star sleep, in the evening they start moving along the aquarium. I like to watch at them. They are very funny, careful and curious.
I have a dream. I want to have a white snail.
Part II Common rules and difficulties while keeping pets
2.1 The right ways to deal with pets
If you have a pet, you’re responsible for its training and welfare. Good welfare means feeding your pet properly, and taking it for annual check-ups and vaccination at a vet’s. Pets can be a part of our happiness but also can be trouble-makers.
There are some difficulties people have when people keep pets:
- Very often pets can spoil things, furniture, clothes and shoes;
- Sometimes pets can make much noise, be very aggressive, treat children coldly, don’t use their toilet.
If you want to avoid it, you should follow some rules. There are right ways to deal with pets. Masters must:
- give their pets right food regularly;
- take them out for a walk or make them a toilet;
- clean their cages;
- wash and clean them;
- show them to the vet;
- give them enough place to live, play and pay a lot of attention.
Unfortunately, pets are often victims of accidents (such as being run over by cars). Your pet might also get lost or run away, which is why animal organizations advise pet owners to microchip their animals or make sure they wear an identification tag on their collars.
For many people a pet is not “just a dog” or “just a cat.” Pets are beloved members of the family. Proper care leads to flourishing pets and good happy relationships with the animals. This is a very important tool for children to grasp as early as possible, so pets can help here [2,78].
2.2 The wrong way to deal with pets
Don’t put your pet in a situation in which they’ll have a negative experience. Every negative encounter can damage their ability to be good for citizens later. A dog who gets into a fight at the dog park learns to fear (and may become aggressive toward) other dogs. A cat whose ears are pulled by a child will learn that kids should not only be avoided, but perhaps scratched if they approach.
There are many things humans do to animals that can be considered cruel.
People should remember that:
- they mustn’t beat and punish their pets very much,
- leave them alone for a long time
- or throw them outdoors.
Not only does the punishment often take cruel forms but sometimes the bad behavior was the result of owner error, or a health condition. Dogs that dig, or bark, are often bored. Pets understand everything.
People must remember that we are responsible for those who are tamed [2, 103]!
Part III Questionnaire Survey among pupils at Komsomolskaya School
Many Russian families have a pet. Common pets in Russian are cats and dogs, but also rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, birds. Also people have exotic pets. We decided to analyze the situation in Komsomolsky country and find out what pets do our inhabitants have. We asked boys and girls of Primary school. The results are:
1. Have you got a pet?
Most parents allow their children to have a pet. But many parents prefer bring up their children without a pet.
2. Do children need pets?
Pets are part of many children’s lives. In this scheme we can see that most students think that pets are very important in our life. Children need animals and their love.
3. Is it good or bad having an exotic pet?
We can see that most boys and girls think that it isn’t good having an unusual pet. So, may be in the future they will not have an exotic pet. But 2 students don’t think it’s bad.
4. Why do people have an exotic pet?
Student were thinking too long on this question. So, the results you can on this scheme. Mostly people want to have such animals because it’s fashion, they are beautiful, rare and unusual.
5. What unusual pets do you know?
In this scheme you can see the most popular and exotic pets to student’s minds of Komsomolskaya Primary School. Also there were some strange pets such as tigers, lions, leopards that can’t be pets anyway. (Appendix 3)
6. What unusual pets do you have?
In this scheme you can see unusual pets of the students of Komsomolskaya Primary School. The most popular are snails, guinea-pigs and turtles. (Appendix 4)
7. Is it difficult to take care about them (unusual pets)?
Most students think that it isn’t difficult to take care about their exotic pets because their pets are not capricious but anyway they do everything for their comfort.
Summing it up, I can say that students of Komsomolskaya School understand the necessity of having pets, know different kinds of pets, have unusual pets and know how to take care about them.
Conclusion
It is very important to have a pet at home. And it absolutely does not matter, what kind of animal it is. It can be: a cat, a dog, a hamster, a parrot or even a gold fish.
It is very interesting that nowadays people have exotic pets, such as spiders, cockroaches, snakes and frogs. But one has got to be a real professional. Otherwise the animals will die or do harm to somebody.
The aim was achieved. We learnt that the most exotic pets of Komsomolsky are turtles, snails, cockroaches and guinea-pigs. They are not expensive and capricious.
We have made such conclusions are:
- we learnt the reasons of keeping pets;
- we learnt the kinds of usual and unusual pets of Komsomolsky country;
- we learnt about the difficulties while keeping pets;
- we made a questionnaire survey among pupils at my school;
- we analyzed the collected material and make a conclusion.
The topic of my research is popular today because millions of people keep pets and take care about them.
Most people like animals and pets. But you can’t keep any animals as a pet even if you like him very much. Can a crocodile make be a good pet? Or a lion, or a tiger, or a bear? You may love them, but will they love you? Some day when they are big they may become dangerous.
Библиографическая ссылка
Елтышева Ю.В. НЕОБЫЧНЫЕ ДОМАШНИЕ ПИТОМЦЫ // Старт в науке. – 2017. – № 4-4. ;URL: https://science-start.ru/ru/article/view?id=835 (дата обращения: 23.11.2024).