Pets Make a Difference

Pet owners will know that having pets makes a difference to one's life. Whether a pet owner is young or old, he or she knows the value a pet brings into one's life.

My life was all the richer with my pets. Having pets means making a committment for the duration of their lives. I had three dogs and a cat. Caesar and Cleo were a pair of German Shepherds while Brutus was a Rottweiler. We purchased them when they were puppies a few weeks'old and they brought such joy to my family.

Even though we went through the ritual of having our kitten "pray" to the dogs to enable them to become friends and to exhort the dogs to protect their little friend ( according to Chinese tradition ) this was not successful. The dogs refused to be friendly and we had to make sure our cat stayed indoors.

Old people know the joy of companionship that their pets bring. Needless to say, guide dogs are invaluable to the blind.

These days, pets are so much loved that some owners have gone to great lengths to shower them with special pet beds,
pet toys,
pet clothing
and weekly grooming.
They are loved like children are loved.

So strong is the attachment between pets and owners that when they fall ill or are lost, the anxiety and worry is almost unbearable.

I lost my pets one by one, Cleo being the first to go as the vet said that she was suffering from a very painful and incurable disease and had to be put to sleep. That left Caesar and Brutus who became very close. Caesar passed away of old age when he was 12+ years old and Brutus followed 2 months later, pining for the loss of his companion. It really broke my heart when my dogs died and I have never been able to replace them with new pups. My cat was the only consolation and it was as if she knew. She would come and rub herself against my leg and stay very close.

Somehow animals are very empathetic. They just know when one needs solace. Indeed, pets do make a difference in one's life. They have feelings just like us. The only difference is that they cannot talk to us in our language.However they can communicate through other means.

What Makes You Feel Good?

I guess many things can make us feel good. For example, living in Malaysia where we are not in the Ring of Fire not only makes Malaysians feel good but tremendously lucky and blessed.

The earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan was horrendous. I don't think the enormity of the disaster has sunk in yet. May God have mercy on the victims as well as the survivors.

It is good to note that the international community is ready to lend a helping hand just as it did when Christchurch was devastated also by an earthquake just last month. Teams from different countries pooled their resources and expertise to help locate entrapped survivors and later on to retrieve those who were not lucky enough to come through.

It is a good feeling that people of different nationalities can and are willing to help in times of catastrophes.

It is a bad feeling when brother fights against brother like what is happening in Libya right now.