My Petz Rule

Pet Rocks were a 1970s fad conceived in Los Gatos, California by an advertising executive, Gary Dahl. The first Pet Rocks were ordinary gray pebbles bought at a builder's supply store and marketed as if they were live pets. The fad lasted only about six months, ending with the Christmas season in December 1975; but in its short run, the Pet Rock made Dahl a millionaire, selling more than 5 million rocks.

In 1975, Dahl established "Rock Bottom Productions", a company that sold the rocks for US$3.95 each. The pebbles, imported from Rosarito Beach in Baja California, Mexico, were swaddled in excelsior and nestled in a small cardboard box, similar to a pet carrier. A "Pet Rock Training Manual", with instructions on how to properly raise and care for one's newfound pet (notably lacking instructions for feeding), was included. The instruction manual contained several commands that could be taught to the new pet. While "sit" and "stay" were fairly easy to accomplish, "roll over" usually required extra effort on the part of the trainer. "Come" was found to be impossible to teach reliably.

Though initially just plain rocks, pet rocks were sold in a variety of looks, often with small faces painted on, often sold as a group of pebbles, symbolizing a small family.

The Pet Rock manual consisted of various lessons including "Teach your pet rock to attack, different breeds of pet rocks, a chip off an old rock is more serious than a chip off a young rock, how to tell a healthy rock from a rock in distress - (they both look alike in the picture), obedience training and a warning about a pack of wild rocks, giving your rock a place of its own, a ticking alarm clock to sooth it if it's nervous upon arrival and putting down newspapers, just in case. All good tips for keeping pet rocks!!