Dear Vermilion,

Greetings from the Kingdom of Sand to the Sky Kingdom. My sister tells me that you might get a pet scavenger like mine. It’s a splendid idea — they are highly entertaining — but I must warn you, scavengers are not easy pets to keep. Mine is probably the only one to have survived longer than five years. So might I offer some advice?

Rule #1: Protect Your Scavenger. Someone will definitely try to eat her, whether “by accident” or not. I recommend you clearly label your pet with some kind of collar or bell. If you make the collar sparkly, the scavenger will probably love it; they adore shiny things.

Keep in mind that scavengers have no natural weapons: no claws, no wings, no scales, no fire, and absolutely useless teeth. Also, they are shockingly squishy, so do not squeeze them (even lovingly) or shake them (even if they are very wicked) or poke them too hard.

They also love making things with their little paws, so Rule #2 is: Protect Your Belongings. If you have anything made of cloth — say, a favorite blanket, or new curtains, for instance — keep it far out of your scavenger’s reach. Otherwise it will end up with holes in it, and those scraps of cloth will be transformed into mysterious scavenger coverings. They must get rather cold, as all the scavengers I’ve ever seen come wrapped in fabric at all times.

As for the care and feeding of your scavenger, they eat a lot more than you’d expect, for their tiny size, and they prefer meat only after it’s been set on fire. I offered Flower a live desert mouse once, and later discovered she’d kept it as a pet. They also require a daily supply of fresh water and get very floppy or very loud if you forget to provide it.

Remember, scavengers are endangered and can be hard to acquire, as the few that are left are increasingly skilled at hiding from dragons. I’ve heard that some are impossible to tame, too, and of course there are those stories about pet scavengers trying to stab their owners in the middle of the night. But Flower has always been a loyal, amusing pet and I’m terribly fond of her, so I say don’t worry about all the rumors. Worst-case scenario, if your scavenger is wildly annoying, you can always eat him.

Best of luck, and do send me a picture of your scavenger whenever you get it. My scavenger drew this picture of us herself — isn’t she clever? I like the fierce look on her little face here. Rather a good likeness of me, too, I must say.

Wishing you bright sun and strong winds,

Smolder