Emma loved to play soccer. That is what she did in most of her free time. There is something else Emma had been longing for – a pet. Any time she saw someone else’s pet, she wanted to have one.

Finally, she persuaded her parents to get a pet on her eleventh birthday. Her father took her to the pet shop to decide what pet she wanted. The pet shop owner Mr Hayes smiled at Emma when she entered the shop. The shop was full of animals that could be taken as a pet. If only Emma knew which one she wanted, it would have been simple.

She stopped near a tank full of fishes; they looked beautiful swimming in the tank. It looked as if tiny pieces of gold were swimming around in a glass tank.

“Do you want to buy fishes?” Mr. Hayes asked.

“I love the fishes, but I want to buy a pet that I can touch”, replied Emma.

“Then take a look at these turtles,” Mr. Hayes pointed out to another tank that was full of turtles. Emma squealed with joy when Mr. Hayes placed a turtle on her hand. The turtle got scared and hid his head and legs in its shell.”

“This looks good, but I want my pet to be soft and furry”, said Emma.

“Take a look at this hamster,” offered Mr. Hayes. Emma remembered that mom was not particularly fond of hamsters. She preferred something bigger.

When she told Mr. Hayes, he showed her a cat. Emma loved the sweet cat. She looked perfect. “Would it follow me and do what I tell it to do? She asked Mr. Hayes.

Mr. Hayes shook his head and said that cats are not very good at following orders. “You should buy a dog, they are obedient,” he said.

The puppies were playing in the pen. They looked very cute. Emma ran towards the pen. The puppies also approached Emma and started playing with her. One of them caught her sleeves in the teeth and shook back and forth. This made Emma laugh hard.

“I think they like me,” said Emma shyly. “Do you want to come home with me?” She asked and one puppy started licking her hand.

“I think that is a yes,” said Mr. Hayes, “It looks as if your pet has found you.” he continued.

Emma laughed and kept smiling to herself while she took her dog to the car where her father was waiting.

Here are some rules to follow when you have a pet-

• Make sure your pet is well fed.
• The pet should have a proper and clean place to sleep.
• They should have clean water to drink, whenever they want to.
• Be gentle and kind to them because while they cannot talk like us, they also need plenty of love and affection like us. Also, if they get angry, there is a chance they might bite you.