Your Pet, Your Responsibility

They give us unconditional love. and in return, all we have to do is treat our pets with a little bit of care, writes Dr MINLA Z LACHUNGPA on responsible pet ownership…

A lot of us love animals. Most of us keep pets, and some of us keep loads of pets. Some of us will happily adopt the stray pup that comes along in addition to those loads of pets. Some of us are fanatical about our pets and even go to the extent of having the pet eat off the family dining table. But are all of us responsible owners or in today’s non-discriminating term – pet persons?
This, is not about how to take care of your animal. Again, a lot of us love our animals very much, and the sight of baby animals makes the world a slightly brighter place – until they grow up. Its not that adult animals aren’t more appealing, but honestly- aren’t babies a lot cuter? We wish they would never grow up and just remain their small fluffy selves. This is about how much you should respect your animal, its health, its well being and most importantly – its happiness.
Caring for a pet is like caring for a baby the only difference being, a baby will grow up and start talking whereas a pet, however smart, will still leave you wondering, and act on instinct. Pets will be the perfect companion only as long as the owner makes sure of it.
Toilet training is one of the first rules in line when keeping a pet. As long as you make sure when or where your pet needs some contemplative time, you needn’t worry about scooping little gifts they might leave in and around the house. Train your dog to use a specific place to relieve himself and all will be right with the world. Use a litter tray in the initial stages and gradually start taking it out for walks. He gets a loo break as well as time out from being confined inside the house. No fuss, no mess.
Socialising a pet is another very important aspect of pet keeping. As long as you keep your dog confined in the house or chained the whole day with no one to keep it company or just to play, you will always have the neighbour complain at some point that your dog bit their kid the one time it was let out, or that it ran across the road right under the wheels of oncoming traffic. Always make sure your dog socialises with other dogs. If it finds a friend – a dog, a cat or even a person, encourage it and you will be the better for it.
The most important of all, and this one is for those who do not have plans to breed their pets – NEUTER YOUR PET and if it could talk, it might just thank you for it. Neutering brings about a lot of jokes among my friends, but it turns out, it has a great effect on the life of your pet.
Neuter your pet, and you won’t have to fend off amorous suitors lining up and even fighting for your female pet. Fights most often turn vicious and can endanger all those involved. Cats are especially prone to mating related injuries most of which turn out badly in the long run. Un-neutered female cats get chased and even bitten quite severely in the process. Cats give birth to kittens, and under rainy conditions such as ours, they suffer from various infections and most often, die without proper attention. Those who take to raiding house-holds for milk and meat end up with scald injuries because unappreciative home owners throw hot water at them. Not only stray cats, owners who let their cats or dogs breed unchecked have to contend with the likelihood of inbreeding, resulting in the birth of deformed offspring and severe damage to the gene pool of the domestic pet. This isn’t fair to other prospective owners, its even worse for the animals who have to keep giving birth season after season, simply because their owners decide to turn a blind eye to the reproductive health of their pet. Unneutered pets tend to be a lot more aggressive and wild as compared to neutered ones. Such pets roam a lot, especially into strong smelling areas like dumpsters where they catch worm infestations and other diseases which eventually, you will catch – none of which are pleasant and can have long term effects. If neutered, these pets tend to have a smaller roaming requirement and are at a lesser risk of getting into trouble.
Have you noticed that where there are lots of cats there tend to be a lot fewer birds? I just had a friend complain the other day that the Whistling Thrush chick he watched growing up, got eaten up by one of the several cats breeding in his neighbourhood.
This lack of knowledge has today even prompted India’s latest sensation Pent-house Pet Sunny Leone to speak up for pets in her own way, albeit rather daring –“ Too much Sex can be bad for your pet, You don’t want to continue the cycle of homeless dogs or cat” does seem to state a rather honest fact, one that needs to be heeded if you really do care for your pet.
Pets give us the one thing that no one else can ever give– unconditional love. You might lock up a dog the entire day in the house and let it out in the evening when you return from work. It will still give you a welcome that makes you feel like a million bucks. Cats are sociable animals, they might seem aloof but then the ones that are affectionate make you feel like you’re the only ones they are really comfortable with. So if you do truly care about the well being of your pet as well as value your own peace of mind, do think about these points. They just might make your pet a happier one.