Chia pet combines plant and pet care

Despite needing watering, feeding, and occasional help against pests, plants are generally easier to care for than animals. If you still long for a four-legged pet yet want to avoid the hassles of a real animal, a "chia pet" may be the one for you.

A four-legged plant? Not exactly. But a chia pet is a dead ringer for a sheep, a four-inch high sheep made of terra cotta. With good care, most of that terra cotta "skin" sprouts green "wool," which really is the small leaves and stems of chia plants.

Chia is the perfect plant -- or, at least, the perfect seed -- for these pets, because of the thick jelly it forms when mixed with water. You soak the seed in water, then scoop up the thick goo with your fingers and rub it into the grooved stomach, back, rump, and neck of the naked sheep.

Chia happens to be edible, and any leftovers of that gooey mix of seeds and water might appeal to some palates. Indians of the Southwest, where chia grows wild, would roast and grind the seeds before mixing them with water, then add some sweetener. Another use for the seeds is to grind them up to add to baked goods. Chia is, in fact, a type of sage.

Getting back to the sheep, those chia seeds rubbed all over the ruddy skin do need subsequent care. Keep the goo moist by pouring water into the hole in the sheep's back, then replenishing the water as it seeps out through the porous terra cotta.

The seeds sprout quickly, but there's not much chance of the plants flowering and ripening seeds on the sheep's back. There's just not enough space or nourishment for each plant there. Even outdoors, with room to spread out, a chia plant needs three to four months of hot, sunny weather to mature seeds.

You could theoretically give the sheep an occasional shearing with a scissors, then use the leaves just as you would sage.

You might find that your sheep has or develops bald spots rather than the lush coat pictured on the box it comes in. A few weeks in a humid nursery such as a terrarium or a plastic tent should avert this problem. After that, the thick coat of green wool should protect the roots from drying out.

With all this coddling, maybe chia pets aren't so carefree; chickens might be easier.