A Museum Exhibit All About Pets

Professor Katherine Grier's research into human-animal relationships evolved into an entire museum exhibit entitled "Pets in America". The exhibit chronicles Americans' love for their pets from the 18th century to the present and will be touring the country for the next several years.

Although primarily about America, the exhibit also traces the origin of pet-keeping back to its roots in the Far East; the exhibit contains many examples of ornate cages used to house crickets. From the earliest times here in America, the focus on pets has been mainly on cats and dogs because they served as both companions and workers. Songbirds, especially canaries, became popular in the early 20th century as a means of entertainment--they provided background music long before gramophones, radios or ipods. The exhibit explores all manner of pets, however, and makes use of some interesting artifacts.

The exhibit also examines how there has been an explosion in pet products and services in response to the ever-increasing popularity of pets in America. It also illustrates how Hollywood jumped on the pet bandwagon by producing animal heroes like Lassie and Rin Tin Tin. A section of the exhibit is devoted to the evolution of veterinary medicine, as well. Much of early pet care, as with early human medical care, consisted of quackery and nonsense.

A virtual tour of the exhibit is available at www.petsinamerica.org. Take the virtual tour with your pet, because they are not allowed in museums.....