Pet Love

 As I sat down lethargically on my couch after a tiring and a hectic day, there was a sudden knock and the door swung open. I was in for a big surprise as my neighbour's pet jumped over me; started cahooting in joy and wagging his tail. I stroked him gently, cuddled him and played with him for about half an hour. After he left, I suddenly left rejuvenated. I lost all the fatigue and got in new energy.

The next day, another incident occurred. I had gone to visit my cousin's pet dog. I had last seen him two-three months ago when he was a baby- when he was not even my palm size. I doubted if he would remember me, but I was in for another surprise, as he did recognize me!!  He was gyrating in ecstasy, wiggling with excitement and jumping on me. We could see the sparkle in those luminous eyes of his- an inexplicable sense of delight. We spent about an hour with him, took many pictures and left.

Both those incidents had a strong impact on my mind. I was completely dumbfounded as I never expected to get lots of love and remembrance from pets. I was never an animal lover at start. I was someone who was really very afraid of dogs- someone who wouldn't even go beside them even though assured that nothing would happen. I was scared stiff of dogs and always maintained a distance of 10 feet from them. But these two pet dogs completely changed my perception about animals and from then on, I was never ever frightened.

                                     

Was it easy to lose fear?? To be honest, it wasn't that easy, but on interaction with several pups near my father's workplace, near my college and in our apartment made it a little easier to accept them and to get close with them. In the start I was apprehensive, but later on started to bond with them effortlessly. I understood that if we give pets their own space, look beyond our fright and think of them as living beings-as children who will obey to our say  if spoken with kindness, then the boundaries will automatically disappear and we will lose our fear.

 If there is someone who can understand human tendencies, their emotions, can give them perennial joy, can stand with them and protect them like a rock from adversities is a pet animal. He can bring in ecstasy on his master's face and can transform a gloomy and melancholic day into a day of delight thorough his playful antics. 

He can bond easily with everyone; can gel with friends, relatives and neighbours and can leave a mark in everyone's minds. Only his presence makes our day complete and his absence creates a void within us. That is how emotionally attached and connected we are with pets- we can't imagine a day in our life without them.

Compared to other pet animals, dogs are the most adored and adopted ones. 33% of people in the entire world have dogs as their pet. I was really curious to know: what was the speciality-the charm dogs have that is dragging people towards them? What ranks them all above the rest?

Dogs are most highly preferred pet animals as they are the embodiment of loyalty, honesty and true love towards their owner. They have an associative memory due to which they remember everyone they meet for long periods of time. Dogs teach many values to humans- resilience, bravery, kindness and most importantly, the willingness to serve their family till their last breath. 

They have all the qualities of a good friend; they stand by your side during sorrow, they become the reason for your happiness, are present in all your happy times and never get angry on you when you scold them because, they know -they are confident that you would never scold them from your heart-and even if you did, it would be only due to your stress and tension over a few issues and nothing beyond that. Due to this mutual understanding, dogs are called man's best friend.

Taking care of a dog and fulfilling his needs is equal to service to God. Dog when spelt from backward reads 'GOD' which is an indirect proof that God himself  has created animals to remind humans about the qualities they once had and had given up over the passage of time. 

                                     

Most people think that having a pet makes them look cool and great among their friends circle. They don't understand the responsibility and commitment that is needed to nurture a pet. They are misguided- they don't know the drastic difference between playing with someone's pet and personally taking up the duty of looking after a pet. They get carried away seeing videos about these pets, end up buying them, not devoting time to them and finally throwing them away on the streets. 

This is not only in the case of dogs, but is applicable for any animal whatsoever. People have to understand that once they bring any pet home it becomes their moral responsibility to take care of them. Owners of pets should know they would be signing a contract of lifelong care, dedication and love towards them if brought home. People must know that they have only two options- either to play with a pet, admire them and not take up the duty or have a pet, raise him to be strong and stay with him till the end. There must be no middle route. Only then all the pets can live a better life.

People are becoming more aware about pet care, the conditions favourable for their proper growth and the kinds of breeds they should have depending on their financial stability. Many government organizations and NGOs that work for pet welfare, rescue and vaccination of these animals have come up. One way this is a good sign of progress, but on the other hand, there is a horrific picture. 

Animals are being treated well only in their owners' house but not in the society. Knowingly or unknowingly, they are being pestered, attacked with stones and are not allowed to walk freely on the roads. Sometimes, people hit them out of fear just to drive them out of their way, but mostly stones are hurled at animals to show human supremacy and for personal entertainment. The fun they have is only momentary, but little do they realise that their actions will have severe repercussions in the future.

Some of you might try to justify the action of throwing stones on animals as an act done to trepidation, but that is not the case. What we don't realise here is that at times animals do run away, but sometimes, our act can provoke them and they can turn more violent.

Instantaneous dread is something that first arises when a stray animal crosses our path. That is very common. But we must also remember the fact that most of the dogs that we encounter in our way are community dogs-dogs being taken care of by people out of their own interests. So, they mean no harm to us until we create a menace. Avert your eyes if you are tensed; avoid giving eye-contact. Follow such small steps and it will be easy to overcome your fright. 

 Every person has their own choice of pets. What you may consider as an ideal pet may not be accepted by others. Some may adore dogs, some may adore cats and some even have wild animals as their pets. So stop bringing a distinction between animals. Consider everyone the same and don't spread hate against any animal. Wild or domestic, every animal has its own lesson to teach humans.

The day when people understand, realise and change their definition of an animal from 'it' to 'he/she' is the day when there will be a true transformation- a day where animals are treated equally with no distinction. People will acknowledge that animals may be mute, may not be able to articulate their feelings but can express their emotions through certain nuances and can sense humans' feelings and reactions.

 So on the whole; I would like to conclude by making a penultimate point. If you can't help, don't hurt. An animal never expects anything from you in return. He only longs for your presence. He comes into your life, makes it colourful and departs after changing you completely. The time he spends with you is very short, but the impact he has on you is very profound. Acknowledge his daily contributions- his catalytic methods to make your day brighter and understand that- 'An animal is someone who ACCEPTS YOUR NATURALITY, INTERESTS, MINDSETS AND LOVES YOU UNCONDITIONALLY.'

                                                   - Anusha Sridhar