Pets, PETA and Herriot

Yesterday, a news sniplet in one of the two dailies I buy reported that a famous actress would pose in the nude for PETA. PETA stands for people for ethical treatment of animals. This organisation operates with the motto of not to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment and abuse animals. It operates with branches all over the world.

One of the best things that I like about PETA is the way they monitor and report abuse on animals whenever and wherever noticed. One such example is the regularity with which this organisation brings to notice the extravagance of the rich and famous in wearing fur. PETA writes to famous people who have worn fur on public occasions and tells them of alternatives to fur and raises their awareness level.

We should be very grateful that such organisations exist. A voice for the voiceless literally. Many a time I have been really pained by sights of cruelty to animals. The domesticated ones which undergo such abuse are really to be pitied for. These are animals which need man. They are dependent on man for shelter and food.

What we humans fail to appreciate is the amount of joy a pet can bring. As far as I can remember, while growing up at my parental home there were always pets. We had an alsatian dog, cats, chickens. At one point of time we had 13 cats, 10 chickens and a dog.

Let me tell you how we came to acquire so many pets. The alsatian dog and the cat were the intended pets. The cat went on to have a litter of 5 kittens. Once that happened we waited anxiously for the kittens to open their eyes, which took a week or so. The kittens looked amazingly beautiful with their eyes opened. The yellow, green and blue irises were bewitching and in no time we were hooked to them forever.

Kittens become amazingly adorable with their million playful ways. From their tiny mews to their black-hole like ability to be curious at anything and everything kept us occupied all day long. So we let them stay as the tiny kittens progressed to become big kittens and finally mature felines. All four of us children had our own favourite kitten which we carried to bed with us every night.

And what about the chickens? We were left ten brown eggs by a friend. Soon enough the edibility factor was thrown to the wind and they were carefully laid in a bed of hay in a cardboard box. After around 21 days, the eggs hatched one by one.

We were lost in the beauty of the moment. Initially there were tapping sounds from within the egg. We had a glimpse of a tiny beak through a crack in the shell. This was followed by the sight of the very first tiny, yellow, wet chick shaking itself off the remnants of the shell. This moment was riveting and enthralling. As children we felt that it was the bravest thing anyone would do- break out of enclosed place. This first chick got a big hurrah from us.

Well, to make the long story short, we had ten fluffy yellow chicks running around the house, which grew and acquired different tans after shedding their baby yellow feathers. Here again we had our favourites and in no time we realised that there were 7 hens and 3 roosters! They responded to our coos and baas. Believe it or not, bird brained is not a term to be used on our avian pets! They were lively, smart and had their own peculiar traits which provided endless moments of mirth.

I still think of those times wistfully. I wish I could provide my daughters with such "animal planet" experience. Our busy lives do not allow us to keep or maintain pets. The wisdom that is gained from pets is invaluable. It gives us opportunity to realise that they too have lives which involve birth, growth and death. The feast of beauty provided to our eyes in their birth and growth can only be matched by the affection and obedience to their human masters.

I would end this post by commenting that those of us who can keep and maintain pets, lets own one. Let us support organisations like PETA, Blue Cross and SPCA. Lastly I would recommend that if ever you could get your hands on a James Herriot book, grab it and read it! Its worth the time and effort! The authors books are a must for all animal lovers and a MUST to sensitise our numb animal centres in the brain if there be one!

P.S. I will get back later with a post on the dog we had. The most amazing one ever! A few sentences or a paragraph would never do justice to her memory!