Figure 1.-- Here we have a charming photo of a little boy feeding a dog who is licking clean the plate that the boy holds in his hands. The boy (who can't be more than four years old) wears a white suit with bloomers, long white stockings, and hightop shopes.

Children have had many different types of animals as pets. The two favorite pets are of course cats and dogs. The tabby cat seems a standard for children. There are of course many different breeds, but we note that the basic tabby is usually the cat pictured with children. Dogs have come in many different breeds and we see children with virtually every different breed as wellmas the standard mutt. While cats and dogs predominate as pets, we see many other pets that children have enjoyed. Guinnea pigs are popular pets for younger children who parents may not think are ready for the responsibility of larger pets. Or parents who live in apartments or other circumstances that make keeping pets difficult. Farm children of course of much greater lattitude for keeping a wide range of pets.

Dogs

Dogs are one of the two most common pets. Dogs are believed to be the oldest domesticated animal. Anthropologists can only speculate about the origins of the relationship between the dog and man. Clearly there were mutual benefyrs to the relationship. Dogs are believed to have been a major asset to prehistoric man. Dogs as a family pet are a much more recent phenomenon. We see royalty with pet dogs in the 17th century. Ordinary people did not have pets until later. This dates to the Industrial Revolution and the Victorian era. The wealth created by industrialization gave ordinary individuals greatly expanded income. And pets became something many families chose to acquire. And as a result, we see the development of small breeds more suitable for city dewllers. Dogs have come in many different breeds and we see children with virtually every different breed as wellmas the standard mutt. Here we have a charming photo of a little boy feeding a dog who is licking clean the plate that the boy holds in his hands (figure 1). The boy (who can't be more than four years old) wears a white suit with bloomers, long white stockings, and hightop shopes. White long stockings were ofen worn by younger boys in the 1910s but were less common with older boys. A great example of a boy and his dog is Elford and Wolf. We also notice the Clark boys in 1897. And British boys who got the dog they walways wanted when they came to America. We notice vast cultural differences among countries concerning keeping dogs a pets.

Cats

Cats are the other principal pet. We first see cats in large numbers in ancient middle east. The relationshipm between humans and cats is much more recent than that of diogs. Dogs were vdomesticated by huntergathers to help with the hunt. It is only with the dawn of civuilization do cats begin to be domesticated. Civilization began as a result of agriculture. And with expanded harvests of grain, rodents became an increased problem. The animal that became useful was the Near Eastern wildcat (Felis silvestris catus). This animal became very useful to humans, about 10,000 BC. And those individuals who were able to tolerate humans found that they could gain access to a huge rodent population and one that wac mych easier to feed on than much more sparsely scattered wild populations. Cats thus became usseful domesticated animals to keep down rodent populations. But unlike dods, they hunted on their own, not withnhumans. Thus the conection as never as close. But with this assoction, suvh as it was, some were kept as pets. One of the interesting artifact of ancient Egypt is huge quantities of cat mummies. This suggests a relationship between Egyptians and cats beyond the mere utility of killing rodents. The modern household pet, like dogs, dates to the Industrial Revolution and the Victorian era. The tabby cat seems a standard for children. There are of course many different breeds, but we note that the basic tabby is usually the cat pictured with children. We have archived many images of children with cats on HBC. We will link them here as we come across them. On good exmple is an unidentified Americn boy in a photograph taken about 1910.

Other Domesticated Pets

While cats and dogs predominate as pets, we see many other pets that children have enjoyed. Guinnea pigs are popular pets for younger children who parents may not think are ready for the responsibility of larger pets. There are also fish, but these seem more ornamentl. They may not sctually qualify as pets. One important characteristic of pets is a an emotional bond which devlops between people and the pet. Parents who live in apartments or other circumstances that make keeping pets difficult. Farm children of course of much greater lattitude for keeping a wide range of pets.

Wild Animals

Some people have taken in wild animals as pets. Here there is a period at very young ages that animals can become imorinted on people. Work conduced in the 20th century has provided a good deal of information. It seems tht birds no matter how different that people look cn become imprintd on people. And many other animals show similr behavior. Other researchers have found that creful breeding can turn aggressive animals such as mink into more docile creatures in just a few generation. Here of course short life spans are importnt. But there are many instances of humans caring for baby animals without such breeding. Some of the most fasinating instances are work with African animals such as elephants, hippos, and rhinos. Every animal has its own behavioral characterustics and dietary needs. Orphan rhinos have proven very difficult to raise. It seems that they are psycolocially vulnerable. One baby rhino suffered so muchwhen separted from his human adoptive mother that he died if I ecall correctly in just 2 days. There is no interest in donesticating these animals, rather the focus is more on on how to save baby orphaned animals without allowing them to become imprinted on humans so they can be retuned to the wild. There is a great deal to be leaned here. It is not clear, for example, why zebras to not seem to be eaily domesticted like horses. Smaller animls like foxes nd rcoons hve been taken in by people, but generlly speaking this is not something tht most people can undertake, especially in n urbn environment..

Created: 8:45 PM 3/9/2005
Last updated: 1:16 PM 2/28/2016