It is sad but I know people who don’t have pets in their house. I say ‘house’ because I have a difficult time thinking of an abode as a home without some kind of pet in it - even if it is a goldfish in a bowl. My own mother is a perfect example, once the kids were grown and out the door for good she didn’t want anything to do with dogs or cats or fish or birds - not even a pet rock! “Too much trouble to take care of them!” she says. “But Mom,” I would reply, “a pet rock doesn’t need for you to do anything to keep it up.” Her curt reply to this was “You have to dust it don’t you?”
Well I guess there is no arguing with some logic...
Sadly there are people all over who would rather not have a pet - especially one in the home. The concept that someone would purposely not want a pet in the home is one that for me is against everything that has been instilled in me as an American. Face it, in our society dogs are a mainstay of what we view as the idealic way of life. Can you imagine Norman Rockwell never putting a dog in his paintings? Or Timmy never leaving his window open so that Lassie could go off and do heroic things in the middle of the night? Can you imagine a President without a dog? Can you imagine Dick and Jane without Spot? Or an American homestead a century ago without an “old Yeller” lying round about the house?
Pets are more than just an addition to add to the atmosphere of a home, they are also our friends and confidants, our therapists. When we are troubled we can tell them our woes, even if they don’t understand everything we say. When we are saddened it is almost as if we can pet away our sorrows by petting them. When we are sick or ill, our pets will generally know it - sometimes before we do. Their presence when we are sick is a source of energy that helps us heal - even if all they do is lie on the floor at the foot of the bed. Our pets see us at our worst moments and our best and as long as we love them they will always love us back.
For myself dogs will always be a part of my identity. For you it could be cats or birds or even reptiles, the point is that you are a much more complete person because you have a pet companion.