Don’t hurt animals on festive occasions

21/10/2008

Maneka Gandhi

(Bihar Times): This is the worst month for animals – crackers and bombs everyday as Dushhera and Diwali run into marriages. It has also been a busy week for me as there are annual fairs across the city and People for Animals takes tables at as many fairs as we can and sells export surplus clothes donated to us to raise money. We had our own night bazaar, very chic , very heavily attended , at a five star hotel last Saturday ( we sold tables to boutiques and had 40 of them) to raise money to buy land in Himachal Pradesh for the first animal hospital in the entire state. Yesterday I attended an art auction in which we were taking part – or rather animals were – we had 5 paintings made by bears and elephants and then painted over by local artists. All 5 sold for Rs 25,000 – 50,000 each and the money will go to a bear rescue centre run near Agra by Wildlife SOS.

Anyway, this week I refuse to be serious about one subject. I am going to write about some of the things that bother me and a few insights that might set you thinking.

There is a type of person who makes a fetish of being frightened of pets ( both dogs and cats) and makes such a huge fuss when they enter my house ( Please lock up the dogs … owww…take him away…will they bite…can you take him off the chair…my wife/child is sitting in the car and will not get out till I tell her the dogs are gone … I have to grin and bear it and everyone has to run around to remove all the dogs who predictably run amuck and set up a stiff resistance. Only twice have I lost my temper – when a visitor brought his uninvited two year old who screamed and screamed and screamed and jumped about till I asked both of them to leave – and yesterday when someone I had never met, used the name of an acquaintance to get an appointment and came to the house to ask me to intercede with my party to get him a ticket to fight the elections. As soon as he entered the door he squirmed and fidgeted and shrieked and within a minute I asked him to leave. His loss.
Anyway , to All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Complain About Our Animals:

1. They live here. You don't.
2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That's why they call it "fur"niture.)
3. I like my animals and it bothers me to be mean to them.
4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly.
5. They are less than half your size. It takes a special human being to be scared of a being shorter than your knees
I really can’t see the difference between one being and the other. To some, that may be a major shortcoming , a mental aberration , but to be able to help a caterpillar get to the next leaf and mourn with an ant carrying his dead best friend back to his nest and scold a bird that is simply eating one bite out of each unripe mango before it drops it …can you imagine how vast my world is and how interesting.
In fact every time you make a difference between animals and your own children , remember dogs and cats love you more and they :
1. Eat less
2. Don't ask for money all the time
3 Are easier to train
4. Normally come when called
5. Never ask to drive the car
6. Don't hang out with unsuitable friends
7. Don't smoke or drink
8. Don't have to buy the latest fashion
9. Don't have to be pushed into doing their work.
10. Don’t answer back
11. Don’t think that everyone’s parents have achieved more than you
12. Are not embarrassed by the way you dress or eat or talk
How easily pleased an animal is. And how cheerful I feel when I see their joy. A little food, a little attention, the absence of violence .. enough to make him/her infectious with a little known disease called happiness.
In fact if you had to read a diary of a loved dog ( pay attention to the word loved) it would probably read like this :
Excerpts from a Dog's diary

8:00 am - Food! My favorite thing!

9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!

9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!

10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!

12:00 pm - Lunch! My favorite thing!

1:00 pm - Played in the garden/verandah! My favorite thing!

3:00 pm – Got wet and dried in the sun ! My favorite thing!

5:00 pm - Biscuits! My favorite thing!
6.00 p.m.- Saw my people come home from work ! My favourite thing

7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!

8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
9.p.m. – Got a half a chappati under the dining table ! My favourite thing !

11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!
So many people keep their dogs tied the whole day , left with uncaring househelp, fed badly and at irregular times, unloved , unwanted, kept simply for show . So they never get to experience the glory of unjudgemental love.
Have a happy festive season and remember to make it happy for the animals by not using crackers. Anything that makes them happy brings you great good luck – and in this frightening world , everyone needs a little luck.