A hard day's work at the office or on
your own business requires a fair amount of stress to get things
done. Some of this stress gets expelled and some, well, they stay in
our bodies. We then develop a physical and emotional reaction to this
stress, which in turn causes disease. At least, that's how I view the
whole shebang about getting sick. But that's another post that I will make
sometime in the near future. I'm going to talk about something
better: dogs.
A couple of month's ago, we (my wife
and I) accidentally became dog owners. And it has changed our lives
forever.
The story goes like this. My
sister-in-law bought a house whose previous owner had more than
enough dogs than he can take with him when he moved out. We decided
to keep one of the dogs that he left behind, an aspin, short
for asong pinoy, because she had nowhere to go. It
turned out that she was pregnant at that time and gave birth to two
puppies. We have been taking care of three dogs since then and it has
been a wild ride to say the least.
There are times when our patience is tested – they are dogs with their own worldview, quirks, and
nuances. Still, I'd say that the positive outweighs the disadvantages
of owning pets.
We've found that one of the benefits of
having a dog is the joy that it brings to its human companion.
Stress-relief is the natural side effect of this, and totally worth it if
you decide to get one for this reason alone.
On the other hand, it's a big
responsibility to have a pet. You have to take care of it. Feeding,
vaccinations, grooming, etcetera, will keep you busy during most of
your free time. Having said that, do your homework before going in
this direction.
There are many good sites that provide
information about pets. Cesar Millan and Ian Dunbar are celebrated dog
trainers. You can watch their videos online to get an idea of what it
takes to become responsible pet owners.
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| Browny | Photo by: Romy Sollorano |
We have grown to love dogs because of
this experience, and they (not just our dogs, but other dogs as well)
seem to know it too. In one out-of-town trip, my wife and I met two
dogs on a beach. They were lovable askals (asong kalye) who
would sit and ask politely for food. They would take a dip in the water when it became too hot and just
slept on the sand and played all day long.
Life ain't bad for these beach bumming hounds who are living the best life a dog could have. I bet they're
having the time of their lives on the beach. And, I guess they don't
bother anyone so no one cared to report them to the city officials.
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| Kobi & Krimson | Photo by Romy Sollorano |
It takes a lot of time, energy, and resources to keep a pet happy and healthy. In return, pet-owners will get a loyal and a loving companion who is always happy to see you even though you just went to the corner store to get some snacks, ten minutes ago. It's a blast and an awesome learning experience you might want to try.
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