Love Me Please (Part 1)

 

I love dogs, so I planned to get a pup when I move into my new home in Bangalore. This was about two years back. Unfortunately, after the distressing house hunt, I dropped the idea of a house and a dog and moved into an apartment.

Seeing a lot of abandoned pets, I thought it would be a good idea to list down a few reminders for every dog lovers and pointers for weird people who just “simply” want a dog.

Run with me!

FYI, pup’s will not be pint-sized all the time! Just like all living creatures, it will grow into an adult…a large dog unless it’s of a small dog breed. Obviously, how big it can get will depend upon its lineage. One of the most basic and important thing for a dog is its physical fitness. Everyone agrees on that, but the question here is, where to take them for a walk?

Those who live in Bangalore or other such cities know that free space is very limited. The little space there is will be either filled with people, stray cows and dogs, goats or at times chickens. How to keep the pets from going all crazy over the chickens I don’t know. Didn’t find many cats here…Small mercies!

Although this is a bit of a stretch, I wouldn’t deny the fact that the city has very less public space for people to take a stroll, let alone to walk the pets.

Understand me!

Living in a pricey city, employing a housekeeper (who likes dogs) or even a dog walker is a challenge. I would say pets who have their own poop-cleaners are very fortunate.

It’s great to have household help, but if they are to do everything from feeding to training, that is, practically taking care of the pets, then in reality, who owns them? If we are unable to spend at least some time with them, then clearly we are not fit to own pets.

Hug Me!

We may or may not have large well-furnished apartments. Riches don’t matter here. If we decide to keep our pets inside the house or apartment 24×7, what difference does it make from an ordinary kennel? Do they enjoy antique vases and 52-inch televisions? Of course not! Maybe they will enjoy exquisite hand made floor rugs or designer shoes…oops! It’s understood they need human affection.

Look at Me!

Leaving our pets in apartments or kennels until we get back home late night (Remember…with minimal human interaction)…isn’t that too cruel?

Certainly, life is jam-packed with tight-schedules. If we can’t make time for our family and friends, then how are we going to make time for our pets. For some people, it’s the other way around. It’s an awful truth, but if we are terrible in managing our time, then its a Problem!

Looking after a pup, mostly in the initial stages, is just like looking after a child. It’s not a consumer product where you buy it and throw it after use. It’s a living thing where you need to specifically invest ‘Time’.

It’s absurd, but people do tend to miss out such simple things. This may be because some people tend to be selfish (“Oh! dogs are so cute, I too want one!”) or they think a dog is just an animal (Duh!) to serve them (“Dogs are just wild and uncontrollable animals, they used to live in the jungle..they don’t need any of the comforts. They should be chained!”). Really? What are they? Plastic?

Some think dogs to be…delicious? (Ugh! no comments!). I should particularly mention about another category of people who love their dogs to death…literally! Feeding too much, no exercise…ring a bell?