A Backyard Zoo

When I was very young, going to the city zoo was my absolute favorite thing to do. As often as my parents could take me, though, it was never enough.  My five- or six-year old logic told me that it would just be so much more convenient for everyone if we could just have our own zoo at home.  After all, we had a big backyard.  It wouldn't be San Diego, to be sure, but I was sure we could fit something modest there.  And there was land nearby for expansion, once it gained a foothold and inevitably met with success.  I was sure that I was sitting on the best idea I'd ever had, fresh out of kindergarten, and spent a lot of my time working on designs for it.

Of course, that never happened, and by the time I'd spent my first week in an actual zoo, it was enough to shatter any illusions about a backyard zoo, once I knew the actual complexities of it.

So perhaps it would be best, then, if everyone who wants to keep exotic pets at home be required to spend a little time at a professional zoo learning what they're about to get themselves into - you know, before they take the plunge and get in too deep.

This month, I'm going to share a few stories about folks keeping exotic pets and backyard zoos and the affiliated world.  Sometimes it has a funny, or at least interesting, twist.  Sometimes, it doesn't.