Essay On Roman Pets

We uncover new similarities between the modern world and the ancient world every day. An interesting part of ancient Roman history was the Roman appreciation for animals. Just as people all over the world today do, many Romans owned pets, especially dogs. Dogs are the second most commonly owned pet in the world today, after cats (which were actually not kept as pets in the Roman empire). Although dogs were owned more for their guarding and hunting skills in the Roman Empire rather than their companionship, there were also a number of other pets that were commonly kept, ones similar to those that many people have today. Pets, namely dogs, were an important part of Roman home life.
Although dogs were the most popular pet kept in Rome and particularly in the city of Pompeii, they were used for hunting and guarding private homes and property, contrasting that which they are mainly owned for today: companionship. However, there were also a number of other pets kept among the Romans. These pets are similar to those animals that people keep as pets today. Another commonly owned pet in Rome was the bird. Various types of birds, such as parrots, pheasants, parakeets, and peacocks were owned, some coming from far-away Roman territories. Birds were kept and admired for their beautiful colors. Snakes were also kept as pets. “The snake played an …show more content…
This dog is believed to have been left guarding outside the House of Orpheus while its occupants fled the area during the eruption. The dog was chained, which is shown by the bronze studs on what is left of a collar. As pumice continued to fall, the dog searched for higher ground, but eventually ran out of its chain and suffocated. The ashes from the eruption preserved the dog in a cast in the very position in which it was lying when it died, as the ashes also did to many of the people in the city at the