But taking a pet is becoming a luxury in the present day modern cities. While in villages we see natural bonding between animals and man, in cities people are remotely concerned with animals. The middle class and lower class has either no time to take pets or cannot afford to take one. In affluent countries like European and American countries, we see pets in home more common, but in countries like Asia and Africa we cannot expect much.
To this proportion man is losing the bond with the nature. Again economics dictating everything.
For those who can afford, pets range from dogs, cats, parrots to turtles, among other animals. Dogs as pet animals beat all, however some think it is more glamorous to have parrots and turtles, even snakes as pets. The type of the interaction dogs produce is wonderful, in my opinion, and they are such innocent animals. The waving of their tail upon seeing their human is enough to be greatly loved. Teaching a parrot to speak is anybody’s delight. I think cats are most secretive animals always hiding something. They do not commonly show emotions. But due to their tenderness they make good pets.
Indians are very much connected with pets since the ancient time. Many novels of moral stories were written which include animals in the main characters like the “Panchatantra”. Majority of Indians are interested to grow dogs as pets. They feel that dogs give company and listen to humans. Dogs are faithful and are honest. They never betray their master. Many of the Hindu sacred books tell that dogs are the guardians of hell and heaven. In many of the places especially in the northern parts, people worship dogs in a particular festive season.
The brightest star in sky is Sirius, often called as “Dog star”. Dogs show way for the blind people and in the same way Sirius star is bright enough to light the entire dark sky and show us the way throughout the night.
This star is a part of Canis Major constellation. Canine teeth are named based on dogs which have sharp teeth to tear flesh. The constellation is named as dog during Greek civilization. Dogs play a vital role in Greek civilization and also in Egyptian history. We can find many sculptures and carving of dogs in tombs of great kings.
Dogs not only give us company but they are also helpful to detect substances such as explosives, illegal drugs, wildlife scat, or blood. Sniffers dogs are trained by police and in case of an investigation they take these dogs with them. More often these dogs are generally in some overlap, with cadaver dogs, trained to search for human remains. Sniffers are used to detect chemical substances cadaver dogs are used as a helping hand by police in a crime scene to detect the criminal. They are trained with some commanding gestures.
Example
J Forensic Sci. 2003 May; 48(3):617-21. Cadaver dog and handler team capabilities in the recovery of buried human remains in the southeastern United States.Lasseter AE, Jacobi KP, Farley R, Hensel L. Department of Anthropology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0210, USA.
For more information on such cases visit THIS SITE.
The increasing awareness among pet owners regarding the usage of branded pet care products and pet nutritional requirements, via the internet, is also supporting the double-digit growth rates. Every year, hundreds of young married couples without children adopt pets as a means to simulating family life before they have children.The pet population in India has grown from 7 million in 2006 to 10 million in 2011. On an average 600,000 pets are adopted every year. Owing to the general atmosphere of sensitisation towards pets in the country, more Indian consumers have come to humanise their pets, and pet owners do not mind spending on what they perceive as being necessary or beneficial for their pets, be it pet food, treats, toys, medicines, resort stays or air fare. The multinationals such as Mars International India Pvt Ltd and Royal Canin India Pvt Ltd have maintained their leadership positions in pet food in India. These multinationals continue to leverage their strong distribution channels used for other fmcg products.
The Indian pet market is now $800-million-plus industry, and is expected to register strong double-digit retail value growth in the coming years. Every year there is a raise in pet care registration of about 24%.
One of my friend Prashasth Sam who is my class mate, is very much fascinated to have dogs as pets. His family includes his father, mother, sister, himself and his beloved dogs named Roar and Terry. Not only is he interested in dogs, his whole family is. Since the time of his grandfather, his family includes dogs. Sam offers his dog full freedom to roam in the house all the time. Every morning he takes them to a walk for about one hour. His dog Terry celebrates its birthday on Dec 30th every year. He gives us party with a cake cut by his dog and himself together. His dog attends a family get-to-gather on its birthday night. He get his dog checked by a veterinary doctor every month.
But then dogs are increasing in uncontrolled number in streets of India. These street dogs are a major distraction for the people who are traveling on the road and becoming a menace. Many of these dogs turn wild and they end up biting and injuring people who are travelling on the road. These wild street dogs bark throughout the night disturbing people. Government should take care of such street dogs. There are many programs initiating to train street dogs to identify threats in market areas but I think it is nowhere close to the reality. Govt. should take care about the diseases they spread. They carry many diseases like Rabies. India has the highest number of human rabies deaths in the world (estimated at 35,000 per annum). Government should act immediately on this issue before it is too late.
SOURCES:
http://www.iiptf.com/indian_pet_industry.php?page=Fact_and_Figure
http://www.euromonitor.com/pet-care-in-india/report
http://www.iiptf.com/indian_pet_industry.php?page=Fact_and_Figure