So, anyway, this group of people came to the local mall. They're a traveling troupe of sugar bear breeders from Florida. They have a great presentation. We went home and did a bunch of internet research, and decided that one would be a good "starter" pet for particularly our six year old. They're as smart as some dogs (they learn their name, they can come when called, you can teach them tricks). They're very sweet. They're NOT rodents, they're marsupials, so their teeth don't grow and they don't need to chew on stuff. They have oposable thumbs on all four "hands". They eat these little pellets and apples 'til they're full grown, which takes about a year. They never get any bigger than the palm of your hand. Then they're omnivorous and can eat whatever, but the staple of their diet is still the pellets and apples. Their food and vitamins cost about $40 per YEAR, and they don't get any diseases native to the US, so they don't have to get shots (they're from Australia). They're also VERY clean. One of their defenses in the wild is that they don't smell so predators have trouble tracking them. They have a white fluid that comes out of their eyeballs that they use to bathe themselves. They have skin flaps like flying squirrels and can glide up to 150 ft. between trees in the wild. Also, because they aren't rodents and don't smell like rodents and don't have any natural predators in the US, they'll bond to your other pets just like to humans (the website has some great pictures of them riding around on dogs' heads, hangin' with cats, gerbils, hamsters, and rabbits). There are instructions on how to help them bond with your pets. They live in packs of about 10-15 in the wild, and are VERY social animals, so they'll bond to whole families of humans. Then they'll just happily ride around in your pocket all day (that's why they're called pocket pets), coming out to play whenever you want them to. They've been in the US for 15 years now, and MOST of states have re-classified them from exotic pets. They KIND of look like little lemurs, with really long tails that can carry stuff around (can't supports their weight by hanging from them, but they use them to steer when they glide). Anyway, we've had ours for a couple weeks now, and he's just the coolest little thing ever. The kids LOVE him and play with him all the time. I can't get him to hold still enough yet to get a good pic, but here's a pic of an adult from the website:
www.perfectpocketpets.com
Anyway, just thought I'd spread the word a little. They're actually pretty cool little guys, and VERY few people are allergic to them. My wife, who's allergic to some dogs, MOST cats, even some bunnies and other little pets, hasn't had any trouble with him at all. They're great first pets for kids, I think, cause they love to hang out with you all day once they're bonded with you. My three year old is even great with him. The little fellas love to play, and they don't bite. Anyway, enjoy the pic. The website has some hysterical pics of the little guys riding around on toy cars and motorcycles and riding around on dogs and cats and stuff.
Poor guy. That moment went in his top ten worst of his tour, and during that one, he was perfectly safe and hadn't even seen a combat zone yet.
;) ;) 
