I've always thought how difficult it would be if I had to live where I couldn't keep the pets I wanted. I've been lucky to have more or less enough room for the pets that have come into my life so far, though I've pretty much reached capacity (and there are definitely times when the house seems a little too full). But what if you are short on space but still want an exotic pet? While some exotics need large cages and space to move around, there are several that can live quite happily in pretty small quarters. The pets listed in Exotic Pets for Small Spaces won't take up a lot of room so may be a good choice for those of us that are running low on room for pets.

More about picking the right pet: Choosing an Exotic Pet

In Ottawa, ON, a disabled woman is fighting to be able to take her ferret on public transit with her (see OC Transpo rules ferret not a 'service animal' at OttawaCitizen.com). She uses a wheelchair and suffers from agoraphobia, anxiety and panic attacks; having her ferret with her calms the anxiety enough to allow her to get out and about via public transit. She was able to get a special pass to allow her to take her ferret on public transit, but it was recently revoked (the reason given is that the ferret is not trained as a service animal as per the transit bylaw). While I can see the point that the ferret is not a trained service animal (and I imagine granting the pass may have set a precedent that opened the floodgates to similar requests), I think it time our society became just a bit more enlightened to the value of pets in our lives. If this woman feels so much better just because her ferret is along (assuming the ferret is well-behaved, of course), isn't that a great thing? And honestly, to give her a pass and then revoke it just seems cruel. What do you think? Share your comments below or vote in our poll.