Why We Love Wockies

It's been over 18 000 hours since I got my most favourite pet, my Wocky Elmooniacht. 18 000 hours, that makes the same as 750 days or a little more than two years, and to be honest, taking care of a Wocky isn't always as easy as you may imagine. Sure enough, there are pets that have large teeth and chew the tables or pets that rarely keep still but run around your legs until you can't help but to lean back and sigh. Now, Wockies aren't anywhere near troublemakers as you say, but more precisely, they are the coolest, hippest, feistiest pet species on the block. By their own words, they mean to say: There is no other species like us. And do you know what? They are completely right saying so.

So, how does this come together? Why are Wockies such a unique species though they seem to us like a misshapen cat? This writer sincerely apologises for any kind of hurt feelings these last lines might give for all Wocky owners there are in Neopia.

History

No one knows exactly where the Wockies originate from, seeing as they have been in Neopia for a long time, though when I spoke to Professor Samuel Tail (a snow Wocky from the Terror Mountains) about this matter, he says his research has taken him back many Neopian years to find the answer of from where his species originate. Through his research he claims that the Wockies have ALWAYS lived in Neopia, which didn't seem to fit. I have a hard time believing a species would have come from nowhere. There had to be an answer.

In this I turned to Professor Irma Puddle, a Green Lutari who was gracious enough to swim to my Neohome in New Maraqua for a short visit. She gave me some brighter facts about our furry friends, and this was our conclusion. Wockies originally came to Neopia around three hundred years back. Back then, as now, they were adventurous pets who always wanted to see what could be found on the other side of the hill. As my pet Elmooniacht can confirm (giving him a nice comfy scratch behind the ear), they love adventures and this can be the remains from those days. A Wocky is rarely satisfied until it can receive its answers, though sometimes it can take a while before the question-after-question hunger has dried up.

Now as we all know, the Wocky wasn't discovered until long after, and that's because the birth numbers during the long history were incredibly low. For a long time it was uncertain if they wouldn't just die out; however they managed to stay alive and even though their numbers were scattered around the round globe of Neopia, somehow, though history is very cloudy in this, a smaller community of mainly Wockies of different colours was created and they stayed like that. When they were discovered, their numbers grew steadily thanks to the help of all the Neopians and their pets. Today, the Wocky is the 16th most appreciated pet in Neopia, with around 5 000 000 pets in total.

You Have a Wocky; What Do You Do?

When I first spotted the Wocky, something clicked in me, squealing: Oh, it's adorable! Like many other young girls, I was taken by the pretty little creature and I decided to have one right away. I got one and named her Elmooniacht, because back then he used to be a she and I have a hard time thinking he will forgive me soon for zapping him under the Pet ray.

Now, I created many pets that day, and didn't think much about it. A stupid thing to do, as Wockies crave attention from their owners, and they love to play and joke. With their fluffy fur and cuddly nature (when they want to) it was hard to resist spending a day getting to know each other. And Elmooniacht easily snatched my heart that day, and she has been my favourite pet ever since.

Not that I should talk badly about my other pets; sometimes I believe I am not the most honest user. I love to make changes, and now and then I have switched pets. But Elmooniacht has stayed with me from the very beginning, somehow; I don't know why. Getting attached to a Wocky is an easy thing to do. But there are days they can be troublesome. Do you know how many Neopoints you spend on brushes, shampoo and conditioning? I would say loads!

A Wocky is extremely picky when it comes to his/her fur. It needs to stay clean, with not a single evidence of dirt, or it gets really moody. Wockies are quite hard to feed food like Dirt Burgers and Mud Pie. It was by a contest of stubbornness that I got him to read Mud Pies, Dirt Cakes. We argued about it for an hour or more. In the end he read it, but it took a long time to get him to read it. Like I said, Wockies don't like to stain themselves at all.

But they make this up quite easily. They love adventures and very often like to take their owners on one. In this case, with their minds somewhere far ahead, their obsession with cleanness wears off and they can practically go anywhere. Sure enough, Elmooniacht complained a little when we get home, but in the end it was all worth it.

Lastly

Elmooniacht is currently trying to see what I am writing about him, since I told him I was thinking about making an article for him now that the Wocky Day is nearing, and I promised him I would take him on a small adventure by then. His tail moves back and forth; among our coloured furniture it is sometimes hard to see him since the day I decided to paint him Camouflage. Yes, yes, Elmooniacht, I know you want me to finish this so we can go and play. To everyone else I just want to say, there is nothing better in this world than to watch a Wocky laugh. And through the years my Wocky and I have been together, we laugh a lot!