Do Animals Like to be Pets?

As mentioned before, this is a very rich and satisfying chapter. First we have the weird dolphin-goldfish hybrids. Now we have turtle abuse. Here's the very next lines:
"It's fun to have turtles for pets too, isn't it? But don't shut your turtle in a dark box, and forget him most of the time."
Uhh, ok. This is a little creepy, right? I mean, do we have to suggest methods of animal abuse to young children? Maybe a turtle manual would be a good investment for someone with a pet turtle. Did the author do this? Did her child do this?
Later in the chapter we have this: "Puppies like to play with you; but even they do not like to be treated roughly. Never hurt your pets by slapping them or throwing stones at them."
Wow. I must confess, I have never considered throwing stones at my pets. Or slapping them. Now, occasionally I have lightly tossed a cat who was, say, pulling chicken off my plate. But that doesn't count - cats always land on their feet.