It’s been a hectic year for my family. Moving house is an arduous task as it is and more so when you have pets. We moved to a rented place nearby, while our home of many years was being rebuilt. A few weeks later, a taxi driver who had rescued a tiny pup decided to leave her outside our home. Usual story- we took her in because we felt she was too small to be left on her own, tried to find a good home for her but of course, people are most reluctant to adopt desi dogs. One of my other young female dogs was not in agreement and so the little one was sent to sleep in the servant’s room on the terrace. She got used to us and we to her and that was that. We had left with three dogs and returned with four.

When we moved back to our sparkly new home, we hired a trainer and had both the dogs enter together, so as to avoid either of them becoming territorial.

I miss the wonderful maid we had, with whom I could entrust my dogs completely, knowing that her fondness and concern for them was genuine and beyond the call of duty. Since she left for personal reasons, it’s been tough to manage them all. So, there I was, telling a dear friend about how the situation was stressful and made it difficult for me to have a normal social life these days.

“Well, then what are you going to do about them?”, he asked.

“What do you mean?”, I replied, confused.

“You got the dogs when you had help, but now that you don’t, why not give them away?”

I was dumbfounded that any good friend of mine could even suggest such a thing and I tried to laugh, telling him that was never an option.

But he argued that it was the only way. When I explained that for my parents and me, our pets are like our children and they are very much a part of the family, my friend retorted that one couldn’t possibly compare dogs with children. He has neither, incidentally.

I rallied that this was exactly the kind of mentality that I go out of my way to correct in people who get pets without comprehending the responsibilities towards them. It is all too common in Delhi for people to buy dogs as cute, little puppies and then find that they cannot or would rather not, manage them as they get older and bigger. As the conversation grew uncomfortably tense, we both sensibly decided to say bye.

But it brought back to me, the thought which has so often come to mind and left me baffled time and again. How can people abandon their pets? Admittedly, there may be circumstances so difficult that it would warrant giving up one’s pet- that too only to a good home, not abandoning them by the roadside- but I find that more often than not, it’s just the easy way out for people too uncaring and immature to bother with finding a solution to whatever problem they may be facing. Pets are meant to be treated like members of a family. They are intelligent, emotional beings that build attachments and become dependent on and loyal to their owners. Animal lovers have seen time and time again, what a traumatic thing it is for a pet to be abandoned. I wonder, if someone’s child were getting too boisterous, or a family member were sick or there was a big event at home, would one shoo away one’s parents or children? Why is it different then for pets?

One of the many great lessons in life that my grandmother taught me, was that the most valuable thing you can give to someone is your time. Time with parents, grandparents, children, uncles and aunts and of course, pets. I’ve found that interaction with dogs and I daresay other pets, helps them to develop their personalities and helps us to become more sensitive, kind and compassionate human beings. My commitment to my pets means I need time to engage with them individually every single day, take them personally to the vet, walk them occasionally and ensure that they are well looked after even in my absence. Yes, I need some physical help to do all this, but it’s important that I too am involved in my pets’ lives because they are very much a part of my family. However tiring it can sometimes be to look after four of them, they are and always will be mine to look after, just as they look after me. Whether it’s a period of stress, an economic crunch or a bout of illness, we’ll all get through it if we just manage to give one another what we need the most- time and love.