THE SNAKE PIT 2^nd EDITION 2016 (Friday, April 22, 2016)

ATTENTION: All Cats and Dog owners ever considered a pet Croc?

Pets, pets, pets why are they so significant? They eat, poo, bark, wander off, make a mess and then poo again; vet bills are more expensive then going to the super Bowl so why do so many people tolerate them? The real answer is because pets bring an immense amount of joy in people’s lives, regardless of whether you’ve had a tough day at work, university or school they are there ready to greet you with that unshakable happiness. There is a strong connection between owner and pet, especially between the two most commonly owned pets, dogs and cats. Cats were considered a symbol of royalty in the Ancient Egyptian times and dogs have always been loyal and obedient to their servants. There is plenty of proof of this loyalty from dogs towards their owners and none represents this better than the story of Hachiko the inspirational dog from Japan. Hachiko is so significant that there is a statue in Tokyo in he’s honor. Eizaburo Ueno, a professor at Tokyo University, had long wanted a pure bred Japanese Akita dog. He eventually got his wish by adopting Hachiko and it wasn’t long before his new pet was his best friend. Eizaburo loved his dog and two of them were inseparable.

As Hachiko grew older, he started to see his owner off to work in the morning at the Shibuya Train Station, in central Tokyo, and went to pick him up at the station in the afternoon when he returned from work.

Hachiko was as usually sitting by the exit at the train station waiting for his dear Eizaburo. But one day his owner never showed up….

It turned out that Eizaburo had suffered from a cerebral haemorrhage and died suddenly and unexpectedly while at work.

Hachiko throughout the rest of his ten year long life he kept going to the Shibuya Train Station every morning and afternoon precisely when the train was due to enter the station, waiting in hope for his beloved owner to arrive, but sadly he never came back.

The story of Hachiko gained a lot of attention in the media, inspiring many people from all corners of the globe to visit him at Shibuya Train Station to offer him treats.

In 1934 a statue of Hachiko was unveiled at a grand ceremony in front of Shibuya train station with Hachiko himself present as the main guest.

Hachiko passed away peacefully and alone on the street near Shibuya train station on March 8, 1935 at the age of 12.

This story is heartwarming and it is the perfect demonstration on how loyal dogs are to their owners till the very end. But of course in Snake Pit fashion we must pick out something obscure about the topic and get extremely off topic so enter the crocodile lady.

Yes that’s right the council for having a huge pet crocodile for nearly sixty years has finally told off a British lady! When the women’s father died she inherited the female crocodile named Albert, yes I know what you’re thinking, that’s a good name for a female crocodile. She described the love of her life as ‘low maintenance’, yep that’s typical of partners, oh wait are we still talking about the croc?

Now of course this article would not be complete without jumping out of the square a little.

Now an interesting but unsurprising fact is that Australia has one of the highest rates of pet ownership in the world. About 63% of Australian households own pets. There are an estimated more than 25 million pets in Australia. Dogs are the most common pets, with 39% of households owning a dog. There are estimated to be 4.2 million pet dogs in Australia; which is 19 dogs for every 100 people. Cats are the second most common pets, with 29% of households owning a cat. There are estimated to be 3.3 million pet cats in Australia; which is 15 cats for every 100 people. So no wonder there is such brilliantly fertilised soil in Australia.

In addition there were about 1.06 million other pets, including companion horses, rabbits, guinea pigs, reptiles and other small mammals. So it is clear, Australia has a large number of pet lovers but I want to take a further look at what pets, like crocodiles, are a little bit out of the norm. Now an interesting creature is the Pacman Frog, it is from South America and here’s a fun fact, the frog is named after the famous video game due to their particularly large mouths, but can they crunch ghosts?

Here’s the ideal description for the perfect pet for you, the Hedgehog. Enjoy the best 3-8 years of your life as you bring home the loveable hedgehog. The hedgehogs are great fun especially when you introduce them to a new smell. Hedgehogs will react in the best way possible by licking or biting the source of the smell, and they will form froth in their mouths and get them genuinely excited so at least someone will be excited for your suspect cooking.

Some special mentions for exotic pets are the pot-belled pig, the home alone special being the Tarantula (thanks Buzz), and my obvious option, an Otter. Cute small and innocent why would you adopt one of these beauties? They are frequently described as “ferrets on crack” and I think it’s accurate, as every inch of your home will be turned upside down by their curiosity. They will familiarise themselves with the domestic surroundings and find and play with everything, leaving their mark on it. Sure, if you uploaded the footage to YouTube your loveable creature will go virus and an independent Instagram account will probably be necessary. But as an owner just be prepared to pay the heavy price for the destruction they cause, in this case maybe a stuffed animal is a better option.

Michael Serpell