It’s a common complaint among pets’ owners, especially elderly couples, that they are not able to travel due to their pets. On discussing further, you will come to know that they very well know about the places where they can leave their pets or even with friends for a short while and however well they may be maintained the owners don’t feel secure. They will also not entertain the idea of leaving a pet in the house alone even when a servant can attend to its needs. When they travel, they keep on worrying about it constantly. The complaint is an eyewash as the truth is that they don’t want to live without the pet for a day because the unconditional love and affection which they get from their pet cannot be compensated even by their own children who work and live in other cities. Among many other reasons like not wanting to stay away from their domestic and social environment, the ‘pet excuse’ becomes prominent.
On the other side, the children working in metros and abroad complain that their parents are not willing to stay with them for long periods, due to which they have to visit their parents often and look after them from a distance.
In Western countries, it is a well-known fact that some old people donate their entire property in the name of their pets or to a person or trust which will look after their pets. People spend their last years alone with a pet and, finally, in old age homes and the children do visit sometimes and in many cases they don’t. Cats are more popular than dogs as they require less maintenance efforts and are very independent in nature. A dog always runs after you and tries to please whereas you have to please a cat. Both show their love in different ways. Birds and fishes are also popular. Birds cheer up the house with their chirping. Fishes also respond to talk.
As we are moving towards the tenets of a Western civilisation, maybe not that far as to have proliferation of old age homes, we find large numbers of elderly couples staying on their own with the aid of servants. There are also large numbers of young and middle-aged couples who go to work and the child is in the company of servants and pets if any.
Pets are stress-busters
Research has revealed that pet owners are less prone to stress-related diseases like heart problems and depression. In colloquial Indian languages, we say that the pets absorb our stress. That is not the case exactly. They don’t get affected but do sense our moods and remain happy or unhappy accordingly and try to comfort us during bad periods. Cats and dogs try to cuddle up and divert attention from our issues. They even indicate that they want to go for a drive or a walk. Basically, they are very peace-loving and do not like raised voices or quarrels in the house.
Research also indicates that owners, especially single persons, talk to their pet about their inner feelings and also take decisions according to the pet’s reactions. I know of a friend’s cat which doesn’t allow her to watch panel discussions because when the participants argue in a loud voice, the cat thinks that they are quarrelling and immediately it goes to my friend and starts pawing her arm indicating that the channel should be changed. The cat indicates the same way when people in the house talk loudly or quarrel. It gets very happy listening to soothing music. Due to it there is peace in the house. It’s not a question of a cat’s soul who is acting this way. All our souls need peace, but we don’t realise it and have to learn from the pets.
Unconditional love
Some people throw stones at stray dogs, but there are a lot of people who one can find at teashops or snacks centres who would definitely buy something for the stray dog which looks up lovingly and wags its tail. However dirty it may appear, our hearts go out to it only because it sends unconditional love by just wagging its tail and expects to us to understand it.
I call it unconditional love because sometimes they act like small children and forget the fact that you have scolded them and again come close and act as before. But sometimes, they act as adults too and sulk until you pat their back and say sorry. Even if you do that, it takes just a second to get back into their previous mood. This cannot be expected from humans and not even from own offspring who have become adults.
Givers, not takers
In this strife-ridden world, which is named as Kaliyug and where relationships are based on selfish interests, having pets is like a breath of fresh air. Every human being is in the process of finding out what he can get from you. There are people who don’t speak to another if nothing has to be gained out of him. They are not to be blamed because the rules of the game are such if one has to survive and become a success. These people are called ‘takers’ because they don’t want to give anything back, neither to the giver nor to the society. In contrast, pets are complete ‘givers’. In return for a paltry amount that we spend on their food and care, they give back hundred fold times in terms of love and affection.
