HUMMING WORDS: adoption

Monday, February 2, 2009

WANT A PET? WHY NOT ADOPT ONE!

Well, I have always loved pets. I think that must be prominent in my birth chart much to the irritation of my family and friends.

One of my dear friends Anubha just got a new puppy. It’s a very cute and sweet Lahsa Apso. When I mention a puppy, I need not use the adjective cute!! But its name is just too tough and long to memorize, like some exotic French dish; I wonder what that pup might be thinking, (yaar, kaisi complicated malkin mili hai!). Any ways, let’s not get into what that puppy might be thinking but my friend got it for a good price, the procedure was long with a lot of paperwork involved. I asked her out of my natural curiosity, why she didn’t adopt one?? After all she could have easily done so. To this she actually had no substantial reply.

Is it not a good idea to adopt an animal rather then buying one? There are so many NGOs doing this service, like Friendicos and Maneka Gandhi’s ‘Heads & Tails. Having a pet actually relieves one of tension and many such ailments that stem from psychological problems. Kids are happiest when with pets. And all this is not my personal ‘gyaan’ rather these are the research insights I came across in various newspapers and magazines.

“If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principle difference between a dog and a man”. - Mark Twain

An orphan pet gets a family and a family gets a bundle of joy… who says money can’t but happiness?? And this way you also save an animal from the cruel extermination by Municipal staffers, which it would otherwise ultimately face. I too had a pet. Mine was a pure white American spitz. I lost it some two years back, and believe me its memory is still alive and will always be. A dog or any animal gives unconditional love, no matter whether the owner is a king or a pauper, and in return they need just enough food and a little love... That’s it! One can know the value of a pet only after keeping it. I still have fresh memories of my pup running towards me as I would enter home, waiting for me patiently; and yes, I can never forget the love in its eyes, when it would look at me innocently without any demands or expectations.

I read this line somewhere “There no better physiatrist in this world than a cute puppy licking your face” well! This can sound a bit unhygienic to some people but the actual sense is that a pet brings joy and colour to one’s life. And support too; trained dogs are no less then a boon for the disabled people. (‘Dogs with jobs’ on the National Geographic Channel)

“Man is a dog's idea of what God should be”. - Holbrook Jackson

I want to request all those reading this post of mine, with a hope somewhere in my heart that it would effect their decision. Please adopt a pet and gift a new life to a poor little creature and to yourself too…