Novel Pets

In books, a pet can be a confidant, cause trouble or be a savior. I recall few unusual pets in mysteries--dogs, cats and horses are usually featured. Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum character has a pet hamster, although I don’t think Rex ever helped solve a crime. I have read one murder mystery with a pet parrot but don’t remember the title. I do remember that the parrot mimicked human language and said words that led to the killer.

My family and I have had unusual pets and I know other people have too. Perhaps with some creativity, these novel pets might lead to a clue, a murderer or complicate a case. Here are four ideas:

When I was young I had a snail named Pearl. At that time there was a trend where snails were sold with rhinestones glued on their backs—probably not allowed today. My friends quipped, “Poor little rich snail.” Pearl liked to crawl out of her bowl and wander around at night but it was easy to find her by following the slime trail the next morning. Maybe a character with a missing pet snail could follow the slime trail and stumble on a clue or a dead body?

My niece has a snake that enjoys studying with her. What if a character’s pet snake escaped its enclosure? Perhaps it could slide under the killer’s door and wrap itself around his ankle. If the killer had ophidiophobia (fear of snakes), direct contact might force a confession.

 

Many years ago my sister went on a Girl Scout trip to Papago Park in Arizona. She found what she thought was an abandoned kitten and brought it home to nurse back to health. The kitten thrived, gained weight…and began growing fangs. My parents took it back to the veterinarian who said that the kitten was probably part bobcat. The vet advised them to keep Fluffy because he wouldn’t be able to fend for himself in the wild. Fluffy lived a long, happy life but retained some wild animal behaviors like eating raw meat off the kitchen countertop when my mother had her back turned.

If a character owned an exotic but domesticated animal it might be falsely accused of a crime and the owner would need to track down the real culprit. If the killer threatens the owner, the pet could tap into its wild side and save him.

Many years ago our family was house hunting. In one house my mother walked in a bathroom and screamed. There was an alligator in the bathtub! It turned out to be the owner’s pet. I’ve often wondered if the alligator was a trained movie animal since a number of people in the entertainment industry lived in that town.

Perhaps a pet alligator could swallow something (or part of someone) and hinder a detective from solving a case.

Can you think of unusual pets featured in mysteries? Do you have or write about unusual animals?