The Pet Way!

I just heard that Julie died last week. She had developed some skin ailment and finally succumbed to it. Julie was my father's-in-law pet dog who had been there with him for years. I would have a mere glimpse of the black hyper Doberman through the fence of a small garden that was separated from home whenever I visited my parents-in-law.

The last time I had seen Julie was in June. The other morning when we all were having tea in the verandah, my two year old daughter went running and extended her small little hand through the fence to offer biscuits to Julie. Manna was fearless and was full of excitement. Julie came running and reciprocated with love. Probably this was the first time I bonded with Julie. Julie felt accepted. There was instant love.

Love is acceptance!

Can there be any love without acceptance What is happening to us? Why our acceptability levels are going down steadily?

Think about it.

There have been so many stories of pet love, many movies have been made on the topic. One that left an indelible mark on my psyche as a child was "Teri Maherbaniyaan", story of of Jackie Shroff and his dog wherein the dog sacrifices of his life for his master.

I talked to some of my closest pals who have pets and learnt some more stuff about pet love.

Love is unconditional and perceptive! Afsana from Mumbai shares, Pets have unconditional love. They always make you happy and empathize with you. It is so amazing your dog will come to know whether you are sad or happy. But, why our human love is so conditional Only if one will do something for me, then I'll be able to love one. We find so many reasons not to love. Is it because it is easier not to love than to love Think about it!

Love is sacrifice in action! There have been umpteenth no of stories about pets sacrificing lives for their masters. They are immensely faithful. One dog had gotten so attached to me that he would follow me in the middle of the night, even if I would go to the washroom?, my husband reminisces. When we were kids sometime we would sleep on the terrace. Only a high wall would divide ours with neighbor's terrace. It was not easy to jump over it. One night, Tiger, our pet, saw a thief trying to jump to our side while we were asleep. Before the thief could do us any harm, Tiger pounced upon him which created a commotion. We all woke up and the guy ran away.

Perhaps many don't know that love is an action verb. What would you do to make someone feel your love? Yes, that's right. What will you DO? The moment you'll decide to do, it will require some sacrifice either of time or of money. Are you ready to do it?

Love is to express! Snowy was a very expressive dog. Whenever I would come home, he would just pounce upon me to tell me how much he loved. Many dogs lick their master's feet to show love. And, some even demand their masters to ruffle their hair or run fingers through their furs to feel loved. Well, they can't speak so express their love physically. Love doesn't have any language. Getting flowers, meeting a need, a surprise visit or a note for your loved ones will speak volumes about how much you love and care.

Love is exciting. Have you ever imagined love being cold? Have you ever noticed new lovers How excited they are in love How much eager they are for each other But, when the love gets matured, especially when they get married slowly the elation dies down. May be time to take a lesson or two from your pet. Over the years, day after day, its excitement level remains the same. Every time your pet sees you it gets charged. Comes to you with same frenzy.

So, do think about it. Will you be able to love the pet way?

If this article does excite you, share this. If you have some interesting story of your pet, do post a comment or email us at thewoomag@gmail.com. We want to be forever excited to write for you.

Photo credit Pet Love by Roger is used under Creative Commons CC-nd by theWOOmag.com