The Loyalty of Pets

“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself,” said Josh Billings, 19th century American humourist writer. How apt and profound this quote is! True, there are many other pets who express their loyalty in their own special way, but dogs are decidedly the most loyal of them all.

The bond between a pet and its owner is very special indeed. Whether it is a dog or any other owner, these animals show their appreciation in a pure and natural way. Cats are considered to be selfish and totally self-opinionated. But If I tell you about Pom-Pom, a family cat we once had, you will acquire new respect for cats as pets.

Pom-Pom was a tom cat that grew up with us since he was a kitten. We didn’t adopt him – he adopted us. He decided to spend the rest of his life with us, and that was that. He was a cat with character. Being a tom, he used to disappear for days on end, but he always returned, scarred and bruised from his fights to win over his lady loves. Sometimes, he would just rush in just to gobble up the bowl of liver and rice (his staple), which my mother would have ready for him, and he’d rush off to finish his fights, only to return a day later, a bit more scratched and bitten.

Another interesting thing about Pom-Pom was that he was a ‘talking’ cat.  He would sit on top of the fridge, look down at my mother in the kitchen and make comments on what she was doing. If she said anything to him, he would always have a ready response! But the true loyalty of Pom-Pom was in his attachment to my mother, the ‘food lady’. He would follow her everywhere in the house. Once he even followed her down the road to the post office and back, much to my mother’s embarrassment, and the amusement of passers-by!

So with pets, you see, that’s the deal. You feed them and give them a place to rest their heads at night, and what do you get in return? You get pure, unadulterated love. That is the beauty of keeping a pet, and the loyalty that only a pet owner can know from their own special furry friend.