Companions for life

 

Divya Nawale

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened,” goes a famous quote by Anatone France. Pet-lovers across the twin cities go on to vouch for it

From cats and dogs, to turtles and parrots, Hyderabadis are now embracing their love for animals and keeping a variety of pets at homes more than ever before. This has led to a rise in consciousness for the city towards becoming pet-friendly and creating more animal-loving communities in different areas like Banjara hills, Begumpet and even parts of Gachibowli, where these pet owners are choosing more and more places to hang- out at places which are pet-friendly and looked after as any other kid would be. And the trend is to adopt these animals, rather than to purchase breeds, a trait that is becoming very popular among the young and old Hyderabadis alike.

Aruna Saha, an HR Manager and a hardcore animal lover who has a dog, a cat, a turtle and 20 fishes living with her and her family under the same roof, just cannot imagine her life without them. “They are a part of the family, I know that I will never have to come back to an empty house.” she says, adding, “The animals know when you need them and you also begin to understand when they need you. Some bonds are difficult to explain and that’s exactly how I feel with all my pets.

They are an important part of my day and I make sure that I am not only concentrating on their cleanliness and hygiene but also keep a watch on how they react to my mood-swing. Just being around them helps me in uplifting my thoughts when I am down.” Aruna is one of those people who bought an abandoned dog home around seven and a half years ago and she says, “The loyalty and love I get from him is just inexpressible in words.”

Amogh Panje, who works with ‘Make a Difference’ a non-profit, has had about 12 cats as pets over the last 18 years and sometimes has three cats at home at the same time. “I am definitely a cat person and can relate to them more than any other animal. Probably because they are very laid-back, affectionate, lazy and just uncomplicated creatures overall.”

However, a thing that he says he has learnt from cats is that love is a two-way street and that the loyalty is a shared bond that needs to be built over a period of time between the pet and the ow­ner which takes a good amount of effort from both sides.

You might have heard the saying fighting like cats and dogs. But research has proven that cats and dogs can live under the same roof. Nikhil says, “I had a pug as I was growing up while my sister had a cat for pet so we did have a few issues in the beginning. I had no problem with having a cat around but I understood the dynamics of it all pretty well. It actually depends on the personality of the dog really.

A cat is very easy-going and doesn’t care about the dog being around it, while a dog, especially a pug can be really possessive and want more attention from you. Dogs can be trained to be around cats and then it’s fairly easy to hang around with them together. It can even be exciting to watch the two chase each other around and have fun on a lazy Sunday afternoons since they are such playful creatures. Just make sure you have enough space in your home to accommodate both.”

Tags: cat, dogs, Pet-lovers

Category: Life & Style, Life & Style News