To Get A Pet or Not is the Question
Those of you who read my travel blog would know that I grow cacti and succulent plants as a hobby, those of you do not read my travel blog but are reading this post now know that I grow cacti and succulent plants as a hobby. Also if you have read my last post you will know that my elder daughter has been asking for a dog for quite some time and I have been not very keen to get a dog. Not that I do not like dogs, actually I adore them, and when I was growing up we had a pet in our home.
The last dog we had was ‘Pluto’ a Dalmatian, whom I bought a few years before our marriage as Sasha is also a pet lover and we are both Dog people.
After marriage, due to job we lived in different cities and the dog remained with my parents, with my mother being especially fond of him. Even when we moved back to the same city though in different house to save commute time to office, Pluto continued to be with my parents till his last breath.
Ever since then there has been an intense debate in our house whether to get another pet or not. You see even if you bring a fish in your home it is a great responsibility. You need to remember to feed, clean the water, and make sure the fish bowl is not kept in direct sunlight and so many other things that one needs to take care of a living thing. Now with Dogs, things become even more complicated, first you need to make sure you get a breed that is not aggressive with kids, then the breed should be happy living in tropics, or you should forego vanity and adopt a street dog or pup.
In either case you need to follow vaccination schedule recommended for dogs and once the dog is home you need to take him out for walks, a minimum of 3 times in a day. What to do when you are traveling? You add a task for your wife and kids or you hire a dog walker? Or you put the dog in a kennel? (How many good kennels you know in India?)
Make sure when you take the dog out he is not soiling the front porch of your neighbours. This is for the sneaky guy in 3/4th pants who thinks nobody is watching him, looking the other side when his dog is doing its thing, because he thinks everybody is sleeping in early morning. Remember I have a Zoom lens that I use to click bird pictures? Now here the dog is bigger than birds and you are bigger than dog so you know how clear the pictures are? And if you claim it was not your dog then my question would be – “was it you then?”.
Anyways, enough of our neighbour in 3/4th pants soiling the neighborhood, I mean their dog soiling the neighbourhood.
So you see, getting a dog or any animal home is a big decision and one needs to think logically and practically, and understand that there is more to a dog than just hugging and asking him to shake hands when guests come home. It is brutally criminal to lock your dog with a chain in the balcony and go for work, with the poor dog howling the whole day waiting for the master, to arrive and play with him, only to be kicked because your boss screamed at you.
Anyways trust me, sooner or later your son or daughter will also ask for a dog if unless you already have one.. What will be your strategy then? Trust me, getting a pet is no different than becoming parents once again and remember, you can take your kids with you everywhere but not your pets, so that adds to complications.
I would love to listen to your opinions on pets, especially with homes that have little kids.
Sasha and Prasad Np are proud parents of 2 girls whom they fondly call Princess and Pinkette. He wears many hats after taking a break from being corner office critter for a long time. He is now an entrepreneur, blogger, photographer, traveler and a potential investor in start-ups with unique concepts especially if they are in travel related business. He blogs at Desi Traveler, and can be reached at Facebook and Twitter.