You can tell between a pet lover and a non pet lover. I was chatting to a long time friend just the other day. This friend of mine has 2 boys (human :p) and happens to be a pet lover but due to sensitive noses and space constraint is unable to own a pet of her own anymore. So she was describing to me how cute and adorable yet naughty and mischevious her 2 sons are and it reminded me so much of my own Tristan, albeit him being a dog. But it's uncanny how similar dogs' behaviour is to human children's. And my friend agreed and recalled a time when we had made the same comparisons of our 'children' in front of a bigger group of friends some time ago, and one of our friends had chided me for comparing her human child to a dog, telling me that I should not be remarking that a human child is like a dog! Err....wtf? That was insane! I was appalled at such comments.
The truth of the matter is that my dog is my 'child' and (thankfully) my friend and I definitely do not find anything wrong in making such comparison. It wasn't as if I was insulting my friend by saying that her child is akin to a dog. The fact is that my dogs are v.much the loves of my life and most important to me. So my comments were genuine and I was not trying to insult my friend's child. In fact, I was insulted by that other friend's naive and to my mind, careless remark. I of cos forgive her 'naiveness'. Evidently, this other friend is not a pet lover.
If you're a pet lover, your perspective of pets is entirely different. In today's mobile environment, humans increasingly lose that personal touch with other humans as they rely on technology as the key mode of contact. As that happens, some replace human companionship with pets, showering more attention and love to their pets. Pets are great companions and in fact, much more than that. They make your life more fulfilling and no matter what happens, they would always be there for you. And the best part of all, is that they'd never fight back with you. Hehe. It is also interesting to note from a recent research that pets have shown positive impact on human's mental health and that people with pets tend to have higher self esteem compared with their counterparts who do not own any pets. I totally agree with the results.
The love and devotion that pets, particularly dogs, reciprocate to you is priceless. That is not to say that I do not need any human contact. I do need my friends and family and enjoy being around humans whenever possible. But my furry beloveds fill a void that humans can possibly never ever fulfill. They simply enhance my existence in the world. As dramatic as it sounds. Haha. I would not know what I'd do without my precious babies. :-)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Dear Wen,
Excuse my 'naiveness' and no offence intended (I'm sure you'll forgive me anyways) but here's a thought:
If you have children, you could never 'sell' or part with any of them (long-term or permanently) no matter what the circumstances are(extreme cases aside, of course).
But with pets, albeit it hurts, you can still find a place in your heart to let them 'go'.
P/S: I AM a pet lover too. ;)
Just me,
Mike
Haha....ok I see where you're getting at. But that's kinda different. The bond with my grandpups has not exactly formed to that greater extent. Whereas, I'd never give away Trinity or Tristan just as a mom would never part with a child, know what I mean. Does that make sense?
Hi Wen,
Yes, it makes sense. But, for the sake of discussion, you would never give up a 2 month old baby given your "extent of bond" concept. You wouldn't have bonded with a 2 month old baby too, right?
Then again, you would have bonded with the little one for 9 months prior.
Hey! Maybe this is Nature's way of making mothers carry their child for 9 freaking months and a very painful labour, so that the mother would not part with their young so easily and remind them that the little one's flesh and blood... ;)
Food for thought...
DISCLAIMER: No pun/ judgement/ offence inteded. Purely for the sake of discussion. =)
P/s: I am still a pet lover, especially house dogs (Yes, I'm biased...)!!!
Just me (again),
Mike
For discussion sake: Yes, I agree a mother wld not give up her baby at whatever age. A mother carries the child for 9 mths in her tummy, thereby forming that flesh and blood bond. Whereas for dogs, u grow to love the dog as time goes by. But it doesn't mean u love the dog any less. And there are clearly diff'ces in owning a child and a dog. For one, u can leave a dog unattended at home but u can't with a baby. A child can talk and tell u what's wrong with him/her but the dog can't.
My point here was that a non pet lover wld find it 'insulting' and 'degrading' if u refer to his/her child like a dog, whereas a pet lover wld prolly understand why such references are made. Cos in essence a puppy does behave v.much like a human child. And esp. for a childless adult like moi, the dogs are pretty much treated like our children. In fact, as far as I'm concern, I think I prefer to have dogs than children. Hehe. Less sacrifices required. Heh.
No offense taken or intended! :p
Post a Comment