The Penn Science Cafe Presents:

"Why Do People Keep Pets?"

WHAT:  The Penn Science Cafe, is your chance to ask your questions directly to leading scientific experts.  

WHO: James Serpell, professor in the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine .  

WHERE:  The MarBar   

40th and Walnut streets, Philadelphia

WHEN:   6 p.m., Monday, April. 24

     Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

     Menu items available for purchase

They eat your food, they ruin your furniture and they do hideous things to the carpet. No, not children. Pets -- the incredible assortment of animals with which humans voluntarily share their lives.

This month at the Penn Science Cafe, Dr. Serpell will talk about the different roles that pets are believed to play in their owner's lives, and the results of recent studies that have attempted to investigate these roles.

Serpell, director of Penn's Center for the Interaction of Animals & Society, offers insight into some of the wider questions and issues raised by the practice of pet keeping.