Stress busters at any age… any stage

The advent of the digital age, and the spectacular advances made in technology, in various fields such as transport, communications, healthcare, education, and commerce, have, no doubt, made it possible for people to lead active, comfortable, healthy and safe lives, more than ever before. But, like all good things, those very developments have also led to an ambience in which people lead hectic and stressful lives. The need is, therefore, being increasingly felt for activities and products that can eliminate, or at least reduce, stress. Stress busters have, thus, become, sought after commodities. Close to the top of the list of such commodities is pet keeping.

A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person’s company, or entertainment, rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive/cute appearances, intelligence, and relatable personalities, but some pets may be taken in on an altruistic basis (such as a stray animal) and accepted by the owner regardless of these characteristics in order to remove them from an environment of harassment or ill-treatment.

The keeping of pets at home, such as parrots, dogs and cats, has been known for centuries. Several arguments have been advanced to explain the practice. One of them is the ‘deficiency argument’ which, though disproved by studies, says that some people keep pets as they are unable to sustain normal human relationships. Another is the ‘biophilia’ theory, which points to the need that human beings feel for communion with nature, which also fails on close scrutiny. Yet another view suggests that pets are kept out of a desire to dominate others and feel in control.

Many animals are kept as pets, including dogs, cats, parrots, turtles, and fish. Though not quite as of pets, as such, dogs have been known to be trustworthy, and faithful, companions of human beings, from as long as 12,000 years ago. Ancient Greeks and Romans openly grieved for the loss of a dog as evidence by the inscriptions on tombstones commemorating the loss of such companions. Dogs, in fact, were given names, a significant practice as ancient Egyptian is considered names to have magical properties. Much later in history, pet keeping, in the modern sense, became gradually more accepted, in the 17th and 18th centuries ADE, especially in Britain, as a sign of elitism within society. Later, from the 19th century onwards, the rise of the middle class stimulated the development of pet keeping, which became a hallmark of the bourgeois culture. The habit of keeping pets is becoming increasingly popular, even in other countries such as China, Italy, the UK, and USA.

Pets can be great companions for people who are living alone, or elderly adults, who do not have adequate social interaction with other people. They can also provide their owners, or guardians, both physical and emotional benefits. Walking a dog, for instance, can provide both the human and the dog with an exhilarating exposure to fresh air, and social interaction.

Pet ownership also prompts owners to act responsibly, with many making a deliberate choice not to drink or use drugs, and to avoid contact with substance abusers or those involved in any criminal activity for fear of being separated from their pet. Additionally, many refuse to house in shelters if their pet is not allowed to stay with them. Pets also have the ability to stimulate their guardians by providing them the satisfaction of taking care of someone. Thus, having a pet at home can help achieve many health goals, such as lowering of tension, decreasing stress, and curing conditions such as anxiety or depression, and leading to longer and healthier lives. The rearing of pets can prove to a double whammy in the sense that the owners, as well as the pets, can benefit from the mutually rewarding situation. While the pets, on the one hand, enjoy a secure, safe, healthy, and affectionate environment, the owners, on the other, discover a new, and rewarding, purpose in their lives. Pets have also been known to be extremely helpful for people with defective vision, or hearing, as they can compensate for those shortcomings of their owners, with their own sharper faculties. It is also not unknown for people to give up otherwise harmful habits, such as excessive consumption of alcohol or dangerous drugs, in order to improve their alertness and, consequently, the ability to look after their pets.

Whatever be the reason, the fact remains that pet relationships benefit humans immensely; mentally, physically and emotionally. In fact people become so attached to parrots, dogs and cats that the pets even travel with families. Relationships with dogs, also known as man’s best friends, can, in particular, become very intense. So much so, that my father advised me never to give my heart to a dog to break, lest the attachment result in unbearable grief when the inevitable occurs. Not, mind you, that it stopped me.

I have had dogs at home since the age of nine, and have repeatedly experienced both the joy of their companionship, as well as the intense grief that one experiences, when the inevitable end comes.

The word pet, incidentally, has other meanings in varying contexts. A pet project, for example, is an activity, or goal, pursued as a personal favourite, rather than because it is accepted as necessary or important.

And a pampered, or spoilt, child, who receives extraordinary kindness, or consideration, is referred to as a pet child.

The subject of pet dogs can often lead to the strangest of misunderstandings in conversations. Soon after the completion of my training at the National

Academy of Administration, Mussoorie, I was posted as an Assistant Collector (under training), in Krishna district, of Andhra Pradesh state.

The Chief Secretary of the state once chaired a regional conference of District Collectors at Vijayawada, the most important town in the district. During lunch after the meeting was over. P K Doraiswamy, Collector of Prakasam district, accosted C S Sastry, who was the Collector of Krishna district and the host of the conference. Instead of the usual,

“How are you, Sastry?” Doraiswamy began with, “How is your dog?” Apparently, on a previous visit to Vijayawada, Doraiswamy had been bitten by Sastry’s dog and been told that if all was well with the dog for ten days or so, there would be nothing to worry about.

(The writer was formerly Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh)