Dragons and foxes

In the novel VENOMOID, Lorin (he's the vampire) is put on a mission to get dragon eggs from a wild nest. He successfully gets some, and in a scene where he goes to check on one, an egg hatches. A piebald dragon pops out and bonds to him immediately.

I've always wondered what it'd be like to have a pet dragon. Just recently, I got a pet fennec fox, and I imagine it's quite similar to how it'd be to own a dragon. Fennecs are about the cutest little things you could possibly ever see. Here is a picture of my little guy, Nova. Admittedly he's always moving around, so it can get tough to photograph him.

Foxes aren't pets for everyone. They look super cute, but they're still wild animals (despite the fact that this fellow was born in captivity, and many generations before him were as well). It takes a significant amount of tolerance to keep one. Not to mention, the city, county, and state you live in might not allow it. I had to get a permit to keep Nova.

I've only had my fellow for a week, and this is what I've learned about him so far:

• Boy, oh, boy do they bite! Nova has two bite settings: playful (he'll nip at your fingers when you play with him), and GET AWAY FROM ME! The second setting really hurts if he manages to get you! My hands look like swiss cheese. I have scars on them already! His teeth, while tiny, are very, very sharp.
  
  
• Toilet training? What's that? Nova will pee and poop wherever he wants. Fortunately, I have learned that if I put him in his playpen for about five minutes, he'll do his business in there and then he can come out to play.
  
  
• NOISY! Do you like sleep? If you have a fox, you're not going to be getting much of it. Fennec babies are a lot like human babies -- and my guy is only eight weeks old. If you leave him alone in his cage, he'll cry. If he wakes up and finds himself alone, he'll cry. Sometimes he'll just cry for no reason. Sometimes he downright screeches, and believe me, you can hear it. He tends to screech when I wake up and walk by his bedroom door. He also has a funny sort of trill noise, and a pseudo-bark. The bark is like a light "ruff" that would come from a small dog.
  
  
• His mood can change at the drop of a hat. Sometimes, he'll cuddle against my chest and want his ears stroked. Seconds later, he could suddenly decide to growl and bite my hand in "setting 2" of bite intensity. It's exhausting! It's also why I have so many scars on my hand. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you...

I think having a baby dragon would be a lot like having a fennec fox. Like foxes, baby dragons are cute (well, in theory, they could just look like dried up fish!) and I bet they'd have great personalities. Nova sure does. It's fun to watch him wander around the house. He has a tendency to sneak up to an object, sniff it, then suddenly jump back... and repeat the process! It's like he thinks the object is going to attack him if he gets too close to it. No amount of sniffing is enough to convince him otherwise, until another object catches his attention and the dance continues!

Like I said, I've only had him a week, but it's been a week full of love and hate. Having an animal that screams at night, bites you, and potties everywhere isn't a pet for everyone, but he's worth it to me. It's not all about how cute he is, though that's the first comment I get from everyone he meets - "Awww, how cute!"

It's about the bond we share. I have always loved foxes, and Nova is my little guy.

Now, how do I go about finding a dragon egg... maybe I should check the forest in my backyard! Or I could ask Lorin if he can hook me up with one...