Stress busters at any age… any stage

Enjoyable companions, conducive to enhancing the quality of life, though pets may be, keeping them is not without attendant hazards. For one thing, there are considerable health issues associated with pets, such as possible aggravation of allergies, the risk of injuries caused by accidentally tripping over them and anxiety over their future, when one is no longer there, or able, to look after them.

Pets have also been favourite subjects for the plots of novels, plays and movies. For example, in the 19th century classic novel, ‘Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)’, has as a prominent member of its cast, the dog Montmorency, a plucky and rather world-weary Fox Terrier, accompanying the merry trio of George, Harris, and Jerome, on hilarious misadventures. Ruff, the pet dog, who always follows eagerly, whether in running, riding a bike or a skateboard, his owner Dennis Mitchell, the uncontrollable child wonder of the cartoon strip ‘Dennis the Menace’, of the early 1950s, is another example. Equally well known, although of a much earlier vintage, of the late 1930s, is the male German Shepherd, Rin Tin Tin, also known as Rinty. Born in France, Rinty became an international star in motion pictures, after being rescued from a world war battlefield by the American soldier Lee Duncan. No less of a star was the female dog Lassie, a Rough Collie and the heroine, first of a short story in the 1930s and later, a novel and a movie.

Animals, other than dogs and cats, have also proved to be enjoyable companions. They include horses, chimpanzees and even dragons! For example, in the ‘The Wizard of Id’ comic strip, of 1964 vintage, carried in many newspapers, the wizard has the most unlikely pet, in the shape, of all things a dragon! Called Henry, Henry is a sweet and docile creature, but not without the ability to create fear and panic on account of his size and fire breathing habit. Likewise, in the well-known comic strip, Tarzan, ‘Cheetah’, is an ape, who is the sidekick of Tarzan. In another internationally popular comic strip, ‘The Phantom’, the hero of the strip has a trained wolf called Devil.

In one of the stories related by the legendary John Steinbeck, in the novel titled ‘The Gift’, a young boy, Jodi Tiffin is given a red pony by his rancher father. Jody learns to care for, and train, the pony, which he names Gabilan. One day, caught in an unexpected downpour, the pony catches a cold and, despite the best treatment, passes away. Angered and helpless, as buzzards devour the remains of his delivered pony, Jodi kills one of them. A truly poignant story, about the relationship between pet and master, narrated in a characteristically moving fashion, by the inimitable Nobel laureate Steinbeck. And, believe it or not, even a Gerbil, a small furry animal that has long back legs and a thin tail is sometimes kept as a pet! In the comic strip, ‘Big Nate’, a rage with young children, a Gerbil named Sherman is a pet in the class of Mrs. Godfrey, the class teacher of the sixth grade, to which Nate belongs.

Every dog I had at home had his or her own special and endearing characteristics. The first one, a wheat brown Alsatian named Lassie, had this rather quaint propensity to be irritated by people wearing khaki clothes, such as police constables or postmen. The next Lassie was a cuddly little white Pomeranian who detested having baths, she had fierce fights with the towels with which she was dried, after a bath and tore them to shreds! Another Lassie, who came much later, was a cute half-breed Pomeranian with a terrible temper. She was the only pet I had who had to have a muzzle tied around her snout before a vet could attend to her problems. Then there was Scamper, an unbelievably pretty, and attractive, jet black Cocker Spaniel. In later years, she unfortunately developed defective vision. But the less she was able to see, the more she became adept at finding what she wanted at home, such as goodies like biscuits and chocolates! Then there was the imposing, tall, well built, light, brown, Golden Retriever, another Scamper, who, quite literally, was as good as a trained circus acrobat. When I threw the ball high above him, he would jump after it and twist in the air several times before landing down. And I could hardly believe my eyes when he once jumped, helicopter like, and landed on a six inch wide ledge, on the compound wall of our house, with perfect balance!

As noted in the earlier part of this article, the keeping of pets can serve the altruistic purpose of removing them from hostile and unhealthy environments, apart from being an enjoyable and wholesome diversion. The fact remains, however, that the pets live in captivity and lack the kind of freedom which their natural habitat provides. The situation is not unlike that in which animals find themselves in a circus or in a zoo. Quite naturally, some scholars, ethicists, and animal rights organizations have raised concerns over keeping pets because of the lack of autonomy and the objectification of animals.

A similar concern arises in the matter of the curious practice involving parrots as pets is that of fortune telling. For a charge, the owner opens the door of the cage in which the parrot is kept and asks it to come out and choose one among several cards, each containing a different prediction about the future of the customer. Very cutely, the parrot inspects the row of cards and picks one for the owner to read. I have often wondered what the ethics involved in the practice is. On the one hand, the bird is well looked after, and the task involves no drudgery or suffering. On the other hand, however, the parrot is far from being a free bird, enjoying the open skies, greenery, and variety of fruits available in its natural habitat, apart from the companionship of others of its ilk but, then, a parrot can also easily fall prey to a predator in the forest. Therefore, is the relative security offered by the owner, albeit at the cost of freedom, better, or is the bird better off being free in the woods, although it may prove to be a short lived experience? Another practice of a similar genre is that of an owner entertaining an audience with a clever monkey, a form of livelihood close to facing extinction; the monkey performs all sorts of tricks, regaling the audience with its versatile repertoire of expressions and contortions. As in the case of the parrot, the dilemma to be resolved is whether the monkey is to be regarded as lucky to be under the care of a good master, looking after its requirements of food and health or pitied for being in a condition close to captivity, and reduced to being an object of entertainment.

As I mentioned earlier, I had been used to dogs being around at home right from my childhood. While pet dogs can be irresistibly affectionate, and loving, inside one’s house, they can be quite something else when you encounter them elsewhere. I recall, in this context, an incident from my childhood. Father and I had gone over to Justice Kumaraiah’s place for a visit one afternoon. Kumaraiah was a colleague of father on the bench of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh. As I knocked at the door, there, heading the reception committee was this huge and intimidating Grate Dane staring menacingly at me, his eyes at the same level as mine! Before I knew what was happening. I found myself back in our car, door tightly closed, and eyes equally tightly shut!

(The writer was formerly Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh)