Let's be pet friends forever

When we think of ‘animals’, many of us imagine mighty lions or tigers in jungles but did you know, dear reader, there are over 700 million domestic dogs sharing our hearts and homes worldwide? All the Snoopies, Sweeties and Brownies are followed by their arch nemesis, 220 million pet cats. Why, some might wonder, do human beings, emmeshed in their karmas of love, loathing and consumerism, bring home a pet, a species which doesn’t care about, say, elections, cricket or cars? In these advanced times, when we have both broken roads and smart homes, why do we keep pets, a throwback to when humans were just starting to settle in primeval huts?
One reason could be precisely that — pets connect us back to a time when love was a simple thing. You literally petted a being, stroking, hugging and tending it, and it loved you back in the purest way. Such love grew increasingly rare as humanity evolved — it is perhaps to hold onto it that we keep adopting pets, fitting them into our yearning hearts even as our accommodations grow small and tight. Another reason is sheer fun — anyone with a dog knows that tug of war over a book, a shoe or a pair of pajamas ends with you in a cascade of laughs. Each time you look at your mobile phone, dotted with as many little tooth marks as apps, you smile for our hearts are — thankfully — still delighted by comedy and surprise and not just plastic and tin. Pets bring the unpredictable — and the tender — home to us.

Little wonder then that the global pet industry — which includes vet services, pet food, grooming, breeding, pet-friendly travel, restaurants and hotels, etc. — is now valued at $320 billion globally, expected to become $500 billion by 2030, with India’s pet industry crossing Rs. 10,000 crore. In the West, while more people stay single, many Indian families are becoming nuclear in nature. For both, pets provide companionship and security of different kinds. Yet, there are disturbingly high rates of pet abandonment — globally, over 6.5 million dogs, cats and other animals are cast aside. To stop such a soul-destroying step, Times Evoke’s global experts emphasise greater preparation for pets, starting with shunning dark breeders who sell tiny animals before they’re optimally socialised, advocating strong pet protection laws and sidestepping a smorgasbord of processed foods and anthropomor phising products. To love both wisely and well, join Times Evoke on a journey of understanding your pet — for we are all each other’s companion animals.