I’d like to have a penguin.
“It is lucky for rulers that men do not think.” — Adolf Hitler
I have a Cornish Rex cat. I would like to have a Kinkajou. The jellyfish idea sounds real cool. I would want a Moon Jelly. 
HUGS!
Sqrl
Gasoline: As an accompaniement to cereal it made a refreshing change. Glen Baxter
My grandfather had a “pet” crow.
Be careful when getting an unusual pet. I hear many stories of people getting a “cute” pet and abandoning it when it’s older. And most animals are not used to being around humans and are not domesticated.
When I was on vacation in Arkansas this summer, and visited Turpentine Creek, a refuge for abandoned or mistreated large felines (lions, tigers.) I was suprised to find out how many people raise large cats, and then abandon them when they realize how difficult it is.
La franchise ne consiste pas à dire tout ce que l’on pense, mais à penser tout ce que l’on dit.
H. de Livry
Arnold… do you recall any of the care requirements for the crow? Anything I should know about having a crow that would sway me in my desire ot have one?
Mom always said there’d be days like this…she just never said there’d be so MANY of them!!!
Andrea, I don’t know what to tell you. I only heard about the crow/pet, my grandfather died before I was born.
They lived on a farm (near a forest), and my dad used to tell me (when I fed my cats) how on the farm they never fed their cats because they (the cats) were supposed to work for their supper.
So I don’t suppose the crow got much coddling.
La franchise ne consiste pas à dire tout ce que l’on pense, mais à penser tout ce que l’on dit.
H. de Livry
My folks have a cornish rex. An odd cat to say the least but quite affectionate. The most exotic thing they have is the vietnamese potbelly pig I rescured from Biosphere 2. He’s kind of cute in a big smelly and ugly sort of way. Not even remotely a house pet. I bought him when they decided against using potbellies for food inside the Biosphere because of the possible backlash from those that own them as pets.
The coolest thing I ever saw was a toy leopard. Housecat size but with leopard spots and unusually soft fur for a short haired cat.
I used to have a lot of pets when I was a child because I got lucky and grew up in rural area with not too many people around to mess things up. I had Gopher turtles – big ones – who used to come through our yard and wait while we rinsed them off on hot summer days, picked ticks out of their hides and fed them iceberg lettuce. Once we had a small Screech Owl that used to live inside and land on the table when we were eating and march around seeking tidbits and commenting noisily on the food. He used to like to sit on the curtain rods and when visitors came in, he’d swoop down on them all in a rush and startle them, then land on the back of a chair and give them the eagle eye as if warning them not to start any shit or else he’d rip their hair out. Sometimes he’d land on our heads or shoulders and chuckle into our ears, rub his beak on our cheeks and pick at our hair to groom us. He’d eat out of our hands and he got along with the family dog, a big old hound who was a good natured slob. Back then, neither the Owl nor the Turtle were illegal to keep but they are now. We raised fallen Mockingbird chicks, Bluejays, had some white mice, and the usual rabbits that drifted in. The great part was the drunken birds in the summertime. We had a Mulberry Tree in the back that was always loaded with berries (my Mom made the BEST mulberry pies)! and the birds, squirrels, wood rats and mice had a feast. The berries which fell to the ground in the hot sun fermented slightly and the birds ate them. It was cool to watch some birds land on the clothesline, then suddenly flip upside down, dangle there for a second and drop to the ground, where they kind of wobbled around and took off again. Sometimes they flew into our windows – luckily none got hurt. I guess the old drunk and accident theory applies to them also. Rats would get so stoned that they’d sit there and let you walk right up to them or trot away in a not too straight path. We got minnows from the big ditch out front and some of them back then were really colorful and looked similar to the expensive fish you buy at a pet store today. I used to feed the Garfish down at the canal junction off of the big galvanized pipe and scatter seeds out for the Woodpeckers, Cardinals and Quail. We used to have a whole family of Quail that used to come through our yard several times a summer – the big old cock out in front followed by a dozen or so of the cutest little chicks and trailed by the hen. Damn they could walk fast! There was a rangy old Bobcat down at a small hill at the corner and we were never without Black snakes, Glass, Green, Gopher and Rat snakes. We never hurt them because they were harmless. Once we played with this little cool snake that reared up and spread a hood at us like a Cobra, and we guided it off of the property. Later, much later, we found out that it was a Puffed Adder, a deadly snake. A huge old Black snake lived under our back stoop and we used to leave some raw meat out for it from time to time. Opossums would wander in and say hi along with the usual compliment of Raccoons and their absolutely darling kits. Little birds would nest in our utility room and get annoyed when we washed cloths there. Once a Civet cat visited the house and we hastily ushered it off of the property with LOOONG poles. (A Civet cat is a kin to a Skunk and boy do they stink!) An alligator strolled into our driveway once during a storm when the ditch filled up, but he left after scaring the piss out of our dog, who had gone out for a pee and almost tore the door down to get back in. That was just as good, for we probably would have killed the alligator had it hung around because they’re just too damn dangerous and anyone who thinks they’re cute and need to be protected needs to come on down and try swimming in some of the local ponds where those fucking things now have taken over. We also had a compliment of Snapping turtles from the ditch – cool guys but mean little shits and they’ll snap a finger off if given a chance. Plus we had Box and Painted Turtles. 'Course, they’re almost all gone now because the old homestead is now in the middle of a crowded development with no room for my old friends anymore.
Man, you want crows? Here in the heartland we have crows that look like outtakes for “The Birds”. Honestly. A score of them resting in trees, and then they flap off and almost turn the sky dark.
I can’t think they’d make good pets. They need to fly. (The crows around here have a wingspread of a foot and more.) Though I must admit I have haunted taximdemists for almost 15 years to see if they have any stuffed, unclaimed crows for my statue of Athena (aka Pallas) that is still birdless. I’ve given up on finding a raven, just fyi for you Poe fans.
This shames me, because I don’t believe most animals are domesticated enough to live happily under human conditions. But I am tempted to buy a parrot. They are amazing creatures, long lived, social and just, just amazing. I could cage off one end of a big room, with a 10" ficus tree so there’d be room to fly…
But no matter what, the parrot wouldn’t be as happy in my living conditions as it would be in the wild, and if I buy one, I’m just feeding the demand. The parrot would give a lot more to my life than I’d give to his.
But I can still never regret sharing life with several rats (great critters), 5 guinea pigs, 1 gerbil (Flash Gerbil) and a gecko (Jose Gecko). And of course the dogs (Hector and Frisk). And now Da Woofer, snoozing on the bed.
We’re a pack of two and like it that way.
Veb