I want to add that no matter what you think about your pets' emotional capacity, remember the positive differences they can make. Whether your snake or your dog really loves you or not, it's reliable presence, it's natural qualities, it's beauty, and it's very existence and it's NEED for your care and time can literally save your soul.

How many of us even here on this board have had our lives positively changed by the simple act of caring for our snakes. How many times a day do you smile when you see your snake doing something cute, or just simply being itself?

Our relationship with our animals is complex and wonderful. I can't imagine life without them.