I was set the task of writing about being a good pet ‘owner’ by some
friends on Facebook so I have decided to write a little about why I think we
have a duty to our animal friends in a civilised society.
Let us be entirely clear about this – if you take custody of an animal
as a pet, you have a duty to care for that pet to the best of your ability for
the rest of its natural life.
There are some pets, like cats and dogs, who choose their ‘owners’ by
coming up to prospective ‘owners’ and making that person fall in love with
them. In my own case, when I first went
to buy a cat from an owner whose cat had recently had a litter I really wanted
the female kitten. She was long-haired
and the most gorgeous silvery-grey you have ever seen but she wanted none of
it. It was her brother who came up to me
and lovingly rubbed himself against me.
At that moment, he was my companion and my friend. I called him Merlin and he’s lived with me
for 16 years as my constant companion, friend and, although this may sound very
strange, my son.
Merlin has annoyed me, scratched me and ignored me at times but when it
counts, when I’m sad or feeling alone, he’s always been there for me. In some ways, he’s been better than any human
friend I’ve ever had because he’s never turned his back on me so, in return, I
have always ensured that his health and well-being has had priority even over
my own. He has cost me thousands in veterinary
bills but you can’t put a price on the unconditional love I get from my beloved
cat.
The same applies to any animal
who chooses you to live with – there should be no price you are not willing to
pay to protect their life and health.
You should play with them, stroke them and love them with all your heart
because they’ll return the favour in spades.
Even the animals who don’t choose you as their ‘owner’, such as
hamsters, birds, and lizards, deserve nothing less than the best food you can
afford, the best home to live in and the best treatment you can afford. In my own case, my wife and I have been the
proud owners of a number of rescued hamsters for whom we have spent a small
fortune getting them the best habitats to live in and the best food and treats. We have also done whatever was necessary to
extend their short lives, no matter the cost, as long as they would not suffer
as a result of keeping them alive. We
paid £70 for an operation to save one hamster, Fluffy, when she fell ill. She unfortunately died under the anaesthetic
because the illness was more invasive than was first thought but we willingly
paid for the operation for the one chance in a million that she might survive
and live for a little longer. We could
have had her euthanized for £20 or so and replaced her with a new hamster for
about £10 but we felt a duty to try to save her regardless of the low chance of
success. We also spent a whole night
trying to save the life of another hamster, Rocky, when we found that part of
her bowel had become prolapsed. We were
unable to take her to the vet because they were shut and the emergency vet was
too far away for us as we had recently lost our car. We were told by the emergency vet to keep the
piece of protruding bowel moist overnight as it may have been possible to
reinsert it the next day. We kept the
piece of bowel lubricated and we bottle fed water to Rocky all night in the
hope that we could save her but when we got her to the vet the next day it
became apparent that the loss of blood was too great and she died. In Rocky’s case, we kept up our ministrations
all night only because she appeared to be in no distress otherwise I would have
taken it upon myself to end her suffering by my own hand rather than watch her
suffer needlessly.
Strange as it may be to say this but all of my ‘pets’ are seen not just
as members of my family that I ‘own’ but are seen as my sons and daughters and,
as such, it is my duty as a parent to care for them to the best of my ability,
regardless of the expense.
We should look after the animals in our care because it is the civilised
thing to do and because, as humans, we have a duty to look after the creatures that
are otherwise defenceless. Our pets are
totally dependent on us to look after them when they are ill or hungry because
they can’t cure their own ills and most pets can’t go hunting on their own.
Pet ownership is a sacred duty and a privilege that too many people fail
to appreciate. There are so many horror
stories about abuse of pets or the use of torturous devices to ensure an animal’s
compliance that I have to question whether we live in the civilised society we
supposedly live in.
Surely, how we treat our animal friends says a lot about us as a species
and isn’t it right that we give the right impression of our species by taking
care of the animals in our charge? Any
less is disingenuous if we claim to be truly civilised.
