Pet therapy

There is ample empirical evidence that sharing our lives with pets is good for us. ‘Petting dogs’ regularly do the rounds in Western hospitals and old people’s homes, ‘cat cafes’ have proved popular in Japan and countless millions of people around the world share their homes with dogs, cats, snakes, gerbils, hamsters and even crocodiles. Outside of the domestic environment, Pakistan has an extremely poor record when it comes to the treatment of animals, and it was Gandhi who observed that you can judge the moral character of a nation by the way it treats its animals. If this is the case, then we are poor indeed — but not entirely, and there are humane sparks in the gloom of animal abuse.

This could be observed at the Karachi Pet Show 2013 that was organised recently at the DA Creek Club both by the club and the Rude Planet Kennels. Ponies and pythons rubbed shoulders, and a slightly bemused kangaroo was eyed up by a crocodile, possibly with lunch in mind. One might question the wisdom of breeding the first husky in Karachi as they are a dog for arctic environments not the tropics, but the overall impression was that pets are not only popular in the city but profitable for those who supply their needs from food to veterinary services to collars and leads. Anything that provides a role model for the humane and respectful treatment of the animals that shares our lives is to be encouraged. Not everybody is going to be keeping a crocodile behind the sofa, but many of us do derive comfort, solace even, from our pets. Human life is cheap in Pakistan, that of animals, even cheaper. Gandhi may have been stretching a philosophical and moral point with his oft-quoted remark, but in general terms, he was right. A pet show here and there is not going to alter the moral climate of a nation overnight, but it may plant a seed in the young and not-so-young minds and as such is to be encouraged.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 28^th, 2013.

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