The issue:
Pet ownership can sometimes be problematic in today’s mobile society.
For example: if a person has to leave on a business trip and doesn’t have friends or family to take care of their dog / cat / capybara / etc., they have to deal with the hassle of kenneling their treasured beast. This can be expensive for the owner and unpleasant for the animal in question!
Background:
There are some frogs that can apparently survive in a state of suspended animation at near-freezing temperatures.
Also, bears are known to hibernate for months in the winter.
The proposal:
A “Freeze-A-Pet” would be a regular pet, except that it can hibernate when exposed to cold temperatures.
Presumably this type of pet could be created using the same “insert frog DNA into animal” technology used to create the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. Easy!
Fig 1. A photorealistic rendering of a “freeze-a-pet”-compatible cat. Not pictured: frog DNA.
So if a person needs to go on out of town for a while, they just stick their pet into their freezer (or perhaps fridge), and the pet hibernates until the owner returns. Problem solved!
Fig 2. Artist’s rendition of a freeze-a-pet in hibernation, Han-Solo-style.
In the event of a power outage, the fridge could be programmed to pop the door open and (optionally) send a text message and/or sound an audible alarm.
PROS: Makes pet ownership much more feasible for busy individuals.
CONS: The kennel lobby (“Big Kennel”) would probably oppose any development in this field, which might make it hard to find funding and avoid regulatory hurdles.
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