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Why Pet Collectors are Wonderful


by katzam

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Lots of Neopians collect something or other. Usually it’s something like an enormous number of codestones to train their pet, or perhaps 1,000,000 of their personal favourite item, or even items with a certain theme to put in their gallery. However, not all collectors hoard items – some of them collect pets! This article is dedicated to Neopia’s pet collectors and all the quirks which make them brilliant.

What do pet collectors do and why?

Pet collectors are, in short, users who collect a large number of similar pets. I personally collect Zafaras or many colours, but there are Aisha collectors, Draik collectors, Plushie pet collectors and many more. As a result, pet collector usually end up with a large number of pets which first appear to be very similar, and from the perspective of a user with a variety of pets, it can be difficult to understand why someone would want all of their pets to be so similar.

There are a number of reasons why someone might want to collect similar pets though, and I will go through a few of them now:

1) They’re your favourite! For some users, choosing to collect one type of pet comes down to a deep love of a certain colour/species, and nothing more. That’s how my own pet collection started actually! If you love a certain species, for their wearables or pose or resemblance to a certain animal, there’s no reason not to have more than one!

2) Ease of drawing! A lot of users like to draw their pets, but some artists’ styles will only suit certain types of pet. For users who fall into this category it makes sense to collect similar pets to draw them all. If you know exactly how you want to start a picture, and exactly what shape your pet should be, some of the little stressed of drawing your pet can be avoided entirely!

3) Customisation swapping! As some wearable items are species specific, collecting the same species of pet means that your pets can play dress-up with each other’s clothing whenever they want! In addition, some paintbrush colours have ‘paintbrush clothing’ which is unobtainable unless you adopt a pet in the correct colour. By collecting only one species of pet, a user can collect a large range of paintbrush clothing for their chosen Neopet species, which gives them an exclusive wardrobe to work from when customising their pets.

4) A creative challenge! For users who create characters for their pets, having a broad variety of pets makes it easy to produce a unique character for every pet. By limiting the range of pets they have in some way (by either colour or species) they have to work a little harder to create unique and interesting characters. For some users, this challenge adds to the fun of creating characters for their pets, and gives them a challenging but achievable goal on the site.

The challenges of collecting pets:

Although there is a lot of fun to be had as a pet collector, there are plenty of challenges too. Some of these challenges are fun to overcome, but others can be much more difficult to deal with. Pet collecting certainly isn’t for the faint of heart!

1) Creative challenges. Yes, I know I listed this as a benefit, and in many ways it is (it’s my favourite part of collecting Zafaras for example), but it does pose problems. If your chosen type of pet cannot wear certain wearables, or their species-specific options are uninteresting, it becomes difficult to keep all of their customisations fresh and different. Using the same wearable in two customisations makes those pets look a little too close, and you quickly run into problems if you want each pet to stay unique. The same goes for drawing your pets and distinguishing between them – it can get very complicated very quickly.

2) You love more than one thing. Maybe you love Acaras and decide to collect them, but then a brand new Ruki colour is released that you simply adore. Do you break up your perfect set of Acaras to own the Ruki too? It’s a tough decision, and some collectors outright refuse to own any pet other than their chosen species. Personally, I have two permanent pets which don’t match my collection in any way, and that doesn’t bother me, but for others it would. Pet collecting is full of tough choices like this.

3) You are defined by your pets. In Neopia, you may well take part in a guild, or chat on the Neoboards, which means that people will have an image in their head of what you are like. The problem with being a pet collector is that most people will forget everything about you but your pets. This isn’t always the case of course, but you have to resign yourself to being ‘The Plushie Collector’, or ‘That Mad Zafara Girl’ (the name one of my closest Neofriends used to remember me by). It isn’t all bad, but you do have to get used to your pets defining you on the site.

4) Site events. Certain aspects of the site pander towards certain pets, and if you only collect one type, you’re missing out on the events for all the others. If the Golden Pteri finds that you only own Blumaroos, he’ll fly away without a word; and if you want a pet avatar you’ll have to go out of your way to borrow or adopt one since the chances are they won’t fit your original theme.

So why do you do it?

As I’ve mentioned, I am one of the slightly eccentric Neopians who collects only one type of pet. I own 12 Zafaras and one lab rat who gets drawn as a Zafara for the sake of ease. Each and every one has their own character and design, and I love writing complex little stories about several of my Zafaras at a time. I love to draw them, although my style is a little different to TNTs art style. In short, I adore everything about my pets, and part of that is because they are all so similar.

It can be tricky to customise them (I’m a bit picky with wearables and Zafaras don’t really suit dressed very well in my opinion), but all in all it works out pretty well. I even have a collection of Zafara items to match my beloved pets, and produce adoptables for other users to give to their pets.

Traits of a pet collector:

There are a few general traits which can help you recognise a pet collector, such as:

1) Their pets: a simple look at their account (and any side accounts) can give you an idea.

2) They talk about their pets a lot: pet collectors are usually very proud of their Neopets, and will often burst out with a fun little fact about the pets they collect.

3) Extremely excitable: anything related to the pets they collect can send a collector into gleeful excitement, which is easy to spot.

4) Watching the calendar: when it’s coming up to a certain pet day, you’ll know all about it!

Well worth the struggle!

Yes collecting pets is tricky, and the challenges it causes aren’t for everyone, but well worth the trouble! Your pets feel like a community with something special to tie them all together, and there’s something quite pleasing about a row of pets which match. Now, you should never just abandon the pets you own and love for the sake of a collection, because all pets deserve your love, but next time you come across a pet collector, just take a moment to respect the little quirks that make them special. It’s a wild ride, so don’t let your local pet collectors go unnoticed.

 
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