Pet love: Therapy on four legs, in a fur coat

Irecall reading many years ago that pets have a shorter life expectancy than humans because they give so much of themselves in those few short years, so much love, so much companionship, and so much unquestioning loyalty. All my life I’ve had pets. Horses, cats and dogs mostly. Occasionally they have been a tie, and sometimes they’ve been expensive, but you know what? They are always there for you. Let’s focus on cats and dogs because not many families around Muscat, or Oman, have a horse for a pet, but a significant number have a cat or dog as a pet. If you would ever doubt that statement, just pop into any of the capital’s veterinary clinics and watch the ‘passing parade’ of pets and their owners. You will see hundreds of pet owners with their pets, whether for regular check-ups or more urgent health needs, but mostly you will see pets with owners, and there is a difference. First, it’s important to recognize that not everyone understands or appreciates the relationship between man and beast for what it can be, and instead sees a cat or dog as much less than what it is or has the potential to be. These are those who may have decided to take a pet as an accessory, and for whatever reason, later find them an inconvenience. It may be the expense, it may be the fact that they do require care in terms of hygiene training, they need feed, water and a place to sleep. We should not chastise those who then lose patience with their animals. After all, they are probably disappointed and didn’t realize what they were getting themselves into, so we should cut them some slack shouldn’t we? What we should do however, is berate and punish those who abandoned cats and dogs to fend for themselves, thus creating the problem of strays. We have all seen, heard, or know of, pets dumped from cars in remote locations, or abandoned at locations far from their own homes in the hope they won’t find their own way back. That’s merciless, cruel and in many societies, criminal. How would you like to be left to nature, with no food, water or money, can’t speak, and far from home? What would be your chances of survival? I do understand the frustrations of those who suffer from dogs barking at night, and inhabiting neighbourhood rubbish bins, but please, don’t blame the animals, they are only trying to survive. Pet lovers have good reasons for being pet lovers. They have shared the experience and joy of unconditional love that we recognize from a thousand resonant quotes, like: “My goal is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am,” or, “Look into your pet’s eyes and see trust.” They are reflections of relationships that grow stronger day by day. Real people don’t grow apart from their pets as they grow older, they grow to appreciate them more and more. Regular readers will recall my dog Spongy, who meant more to our family, collectively and individually, than we could ever have believed. I still miss him, and I think about him almost every day. We have also had cats around the house most of our lives, Stannis and Bron being pedigree cats from the UK, while Lilac and Antar were ‘rescued’ cats from here in the Sultanate. Whenever I sat down after a long day at work, it would rarely take more than a minute before Spongy was curled up at my feet, or one of the cats was purring at my side, or in my lap. They know how to fix you, without a word.