General History and Culture

Symbols are used to communicate many different ideas. The use of symbols dates far back and can be found throughout the Bible. Animals and birds are popularly used as symbols to represent areas of importance. As State symbols, animals and birds representative of each State have special meaning for that State. In 1926, Kentucky was […]

How would you define the word “pet?” Which animals are considered pets and which are not? When we say the word pet, we are usually thinking about animals such as dogs, cats, birds and guinea pigs. But there are some countries where dogs and cats are considered food and there are people who raise chickens, […]

Wild animals are not meant to live in domesticity. Often, owners of these animals think they have tamed them, but when the animals reach sexual maturity they suddenly become aggressive. On the other hand, they are not fit to be released into the wild, since they have not learned the skills to allow them to […]

The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is America’s second-longest continuously held sporting event, behind only the Kentucky Derby. The first show was held in 1877, with a portion of the proceeds going to the ASPCA to establish a home for stray and disabled animals. It was conceived as a show primarily for gun dogs by […]

Horses have been used in warfare since ancient times. There is archaeological evidence of horses being used for this purpose as far back as 4000 or 3000 B.C. in Eurasia. A famous mural from 2500 B.C., the “war panel” of the Standard of Ur, in Sumer, shows horses pulling a wagon. The ancient Assyrians had […]

Fish were kept as pets already in ancient times. The ancient Egyptians kept fish both as a source of food and for entertainment. Their hieroglyphics depict Tilapia species and Mormyrids. The Chinese began to breed goldfish (from carp) in the 10th century. Goldfish were introduced to Europe at the end of the 18th century. In […]

Sheep, goats and pigs were the first animals to be domesticated, about 9000 years ago. The earliest archaeological evidence of domestic pigs was found in eastern Turkey. Archaeology indicates that cattle were first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent about 8000 years ago. Evidence of domestic cattle was also found in Pakistan, from about 7000 years […]

Veterinary Pet Insurance came up with the following names of cats as being most popular in 2010. Max Chloe Oliver Lucky Charlie VPI’s list of unusual cats’ names are really interesting: Purr Diem, Bing Clawsby, Chairman Meow, Optimus Pants and Admiral Pancake. Guess the old-fashioned names like Puss and Kitty are far down on the […]

Veterinary Pet Insurance published a list of the 10 most popular dog names for 2010. The list is based on the names of the dogs insured by them. They have over half a million customers, so that’s a pretty big survey. Unsurprisingly, all 10 names are also human names. As more people view their pets […]

Historians don’t know for sure when humans started keeping pets. Dogs were one of the first animals domesticated by humans and have been domesticated for some 10,000 years. According to ancient Egyptian law, taking the life of a greyhound warranted the same punishment as killing a man. As early as 3500 B.C., Egyptians were domesticating […]