It is a great initiative that millions of people in this world keep some sort of pet, maybe as simple as dog or as unique as a tiger cub. It all depends on the person as to what kind of pet he/she wants to keep. But the question that arises is if it is healthy to keep a pet? Aren’t you destroying their natural habitat by keeping them as a pet in your house? How would you feel if you are trapped in some sort of strange place with animals working all around you? You will be fed by these animals, they would keep care of you, would tie you with the help of some rope, or simply cage you? Wouldn’t you feel irritated and would want to get out and live in human company? Wouldn’t you start starving for freedom?
If we consider a few animals, in fact most of them, the circumstances are same. We tie them with a rope, put them in a cage etc., which irritates them. We deprive them of their natural habitat by doing so, but everything is not as it seems. There are a few animals in this world, which can’t survive without human company. They have developed their mentality and physiology in such a manner that they totally depend on human beings for their basic necessities. A few species of dogs come under this category. It can be noticed that a dog generally tries to get a human touch. It would come near you, wave its tail, would start looking at you with those famous “Puppy Dog Eyes”, and this craving would stop as soon as you move your hand on its back or its head. It wouldn’t try running away until your hand is lying on its head. It would simple enjoy it.
This situation is all about a “Weak Spot”. Each thing in this world has a weak spot. In case of humans, one of the weak spot lies in the side of our neck, which if properly touched and pressed, would make us unconscious as we would enjoy the touch on that particular spot. Similarly in case of animals, there is some weak spot, massaging which is really enjoyed by them. Like in case of dogs, it doesn’t lie on their heads but in the space between their neck and mouth. Touch it and the dog won;t even open its mouth till your hand is there. Cats are not much different from dogs. Cats also have a weak spot under their cheeks, which if taken care of by their owner, is felt as a compliment by the cats for themselves. They feel it in a positive manner and think that their owner is taking interest in them. On the other hand, in a few animals, this weak spot makes them unable to do anything, like in case of snakes, if you hold them from their neck, they won’t even try attacking you, in case of an alligator, simply put a cloth on their eyes so that they can’t see anything, and by doing so, they would stop trying to attack.
This weak spot has a long lasting story for various animals. If we talk about these animals living in their natural habitat, they have their companions taking care of them. They need not spot and find the spot as they already know where it is. It is quite common in India when you are traveling on an altitude, where you can see two monkeys, among which, one is sitting and the other is finding insects on its back. We would never do so if we had a pet as a monkey. Various other need of animals can;t be fulfilled by human beings. They simply don;t enjoy the company of their fellow species. This world has been created in a form of a cycle, where each animal is supposed to live under the nature and find ways to survive and live a life of luxury on their own. We don’t have the right to pick them up and force them to live in a habitat that we find comfortable.
A few years back, it could be seen that animals living under nature led a longer life than the same species kept under human observation in the form of pets. But now in the present condition, we humans have covered the habitat of these animals and are using them for our own living. If we don’t use their habitat, we are polluting it in such a bad manner that they can’t even find fresh water to drink, non polluted plants to eat. This pollution has led to an extreme rise in the temperature that animals can neither survive in the scorching heat of summers, nor in the extreme cold of winters. Among the options that they are left with is wither to die, or go into human colonies for their survival.
So, it can be seen that nothing in this world was supposed to be overpowered or converted into the form of a pet. But the present circumstances demand for many of the animals to be pet and kept under supervision or they won’t survive. Just like what happened to the species like dodo bird, various other species would have to see the drastic face of extinction.