While there is no question that pets are important household family members today, what may be more surprising is the long history of domestication of animals. Present day pet owners are not the first to open up their homes and hearts to animal companions. Present day owners aren't even the first to dress their pets up in outfits or fashion jewelry and look upon their pets as stylish accessories. History suggests that as far back as ancient Egypt, people kept pets their homes and made them a part of their family.
Pets served a dual purpose in ancient times- they were able to provide companionship to their owners, and also to serve important working functions in the house. To some extent, this is still true today. People own working dogs, who act as seeing eye dogs or farm dogs or fire dogs or hunting dogs or who do other tasks around the home. People have cats who catch mice and vermin. While it is perhaps true that today the vast majority of animals kept as domestic pets are brought home more for companionship than for functional purposes, many of the same traditions and ideas remain when it comes to pets as existed in ancient Egypt.
Cats are said to have been the first animal domesticated by ancient Egyptians. Pets were kept in the house to serve a practical purpose during these early times- they killed mice and rats within the house. However, they also served as companion animals for their owners, so their purpose wasn't just functional. According to historical records, most cats were owned by women, and many cats were portrayed as domestic pets of these women.
Although cats were the first animal domesticated, history suggests that dogs were more highly revered in ancient Egypt than cats were. While there is only one historical record of a cat having a name in ancient Egypt, (its name was The Pleasant One) evidence suggests that many dogs were given names in ancient Egypt. In fact, many dogs were given human names and treated as members of the family. While we now bury our deceased dogs and cats in pet urns or under pet grave markers, in ancient Egyptian time, many pets were entombed with their owners in the owner's coffins. Thus, while today we honor pets with online pet memorials, they were honored in ancient Egyptian times by being considered important enough to go to the afterlife with their owners.
Gazelles and monkeys were too unusual pets that were domesticated in ancient Egypt. They were kept in the homes, and monkeys were walked on leashes and trained to perform to entertain their owners. Monkeys were often dressed up as well, and in some cases monkeys who belonged to rich owners were even given their own gold jewelry to wear. Dressing pets and animals is a tradition that still exists today, although now it is primarily applied to dogs. There are ample clothes and accessories available for spoiled dogs, including Halloween costumes, and jewel studded collars.
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