Dragons!

About a year ago our girls were ready for a real pet. The original plan was to have a cat, but the landlords said "no" to furry pets - so we had to find an alternative.

Our local Pet Kingdom provided the answer to our dilema when they had a special on Chinese Water Dragons.

We picked a male and a female. Fresh young imports from a Vietnamese rainforest with beautiful stripes, long tails, and budding crests. They were only about 6 months old when we brought them home.

They were a bit skittish at first and could run upright on their back legs when they got up to speed.

Once they socialized a bit their personalities began to show. The female, Lizzy, is pretty social and enjoys hanging out on people's shoulders but heads for cover whenever the activity level gets too high.

The male, Spike, is more reserved and prefers to be perched somewhere in the room observing us. He likes to be held for short periods of time and handles visits to the kid's classrooms with remarkable tolerance.