Re: cyber pets, I played
Furry Paws for a while and enjoyed it. I'd go back to it if I had time on my hands. The trick to making progress in Furry Paws is to enter your dogs in the maximum number of available shows each day, but that's pretty effort-intensive. In that regard I daresay it is true to life, since looking after a dog and training him/her for sports must be time consuming, albeit rewarding.
In a sense, I think it's a shame that so many people, both children and adults, are sitting in front of computers caring for cyber pets rather than enjoying the companionship of real, flesh and blood animals. I'll include myself in that category, inasmuch as I'm desperate for a dog but concerned that my heavy work schedule would be a significant impediment to responsible pet ownership. No doubt it is far better for people to fulfil their need for a pet with an electronic surrogate if they cannot make the lifetime commitment that a real animal represents. Too many pets end up on the streets or, if they're more fortunate, in rescue kennels because their owners underestimated the time, money, and attention the animals would need.