Animals and Pets

Pets are animals kept for companionship and enjoyment. A pet can be acquired from a pet store, an animal shelter, a breeder, of from another pet owner who has extras due to births. Pets can provide their owners with many health benefits. The keeping of pets has been shown to help relieve stress. Walking a dog can provide its owner with exercise, fresh air, and the opportunity for social interaction. While in theory one could keep any animal as a pet, in practice a small number of species of mammals, especially dogs and cats, and other small animals, such as birds, have dominated the list of species kept as pets for a very long time. Fish have joined them more recently. Many of these animals are domesticated, while others, such as reptiles, are often considered exotic pets. Sometimes people treat their pets like they are children, especially when the people do not have children or their children are grown up.