CHENNAI : You see a cluster of people talking in the corner at a party and in a short while, a mobile is fished out and you can see a fair amount of smiling and laughing about a picture that’s being shared. 50 per cent of the time I could guarantee you when you go on little closer, you will find the picture they flashed around to probably smile or coo over , is not the child/ grandchild/ house /holiday. In all likelihood, it’s their dog! Strikes a familiar chord?
Try it out – you’re going to find just how right I am. Of course dogs have always been around and central to families and lives, but with this generation I think humanisation of dogs, the incredible gratitude for the inconceivable love that dogs communicate as companions to families, singletons or older people is just hard to believe.
With the advent of immediacy, social media and instant gratification, pets have taken over Instagram and Facebook. In addition to the whole ‘I love my dog’ feel, what also is starting to change dramatically is the increased sense of responsibility as pet parents and also as being cautious and conscious about the larger ecosystem. This can only be a step in the right direction, and knowing millennials, they will do nothing by half measures.
No one says ‘pet owners’ anymore. It’s now ‘pet parents’. Calling someone owner is passé and politically incorrect and it is very likely that masses of these so called owners will bristle with irritation at assuming anyone can ‘own’ a pet . Me, for example, I happy to be CJ’s mom or JD’s human, never (shudder) their owner.
What is heartening to see is also the socially conscious focus on , #AdoptDontShop, #Neutering and giving back to the less fortunate animals at shelters on streets. It is not surprising to see pet parents who relocate or travel taking extraordinary measures to ensure that they travel only to places where the dog is welcome, and are transferred to places where they are able to take their dog with them. Gone are the days when a transfer overseas, or even another city was an automatic reason to give up one’s pet.
Levels of bonding are very high, with the sense of family and the sense of being even more responsible for a loving but voiceless and dependent being one who cannot control their own destiny,is clearly high on the radar .When you look down at your own little furball, or your friend’s, there is so much love. There’s so much more we can do, we know, but hopefully, the only way is up.
(The author is a CXO search consultant, civic evangelist, Bangalore champion, Google-Doodle aspirer and certified dog slave since 2007).