HISTORY118 - Pets
As regular readers of this blog know, my subjects come from many sources. Pat suggested this one, sparked by our seeing so many pet dogs in our retirement community. And when I looked into it, there appeared to be some interesting history to research and write about. After a short introduction, I will discuss the history of pets, from prehistoric times through the present, and end with a look at potential pet keeping in the future. I will also make a special effort to explore the human-pet bond. As always, I will list my principal sources at the end. Introduction For the purpose of this article, a pet is a domesticated or tamed animal kept for companionship and pleasure rather than for commercial purposes. The relationship is based on a human-animal bond, where the human is responsible for the animal's needs, such as food, water, and shelter. Pets provide social interaction and emotional support, especially for people living ...