"Hello, I'd like to buy a pet."
"What are your particular needs?"
"Something small, furry...must be good in enclosed spaces...."
"Anything else?"
"Hmm... mustn't be afraid of the dark."
(of course the whole Richard Gere story is an urban legend; he has never presented himself at any known hospital for an emergency gerbilectomy:- From Gere to Eternity