Domestic animals are a source of pleasure, amusement and instruction to their owners, and are deserving of considerate treatment. Most boys and girls are eager to have some pet of their own upon which they can lavish their affection; but when they get their desire and the novelty of the possession wears off, too often they find that the care their pet needs is troublesome and they shirk their responsibilities.
They forget to give it food at regular intervals, or to keep it clean, so that the wretched creature, half- starved and worried by vermin, drags on a miserable existence or dies of neglect.
Those who keep their pets in this way may not be naturally cruel, but their carelessness is criminal and ought to meet with severe punishment. They are not fit to have charge of any animal.
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There are some animals whom it is cruelty to keep, however constant the care and attention that are devoted to them. These are animals which have enjoyed a free existence and cannot be happy chained up or confined in a cage the fate of many birds which are valued on account of their plumage or their singing powers.
There is no excuse for keeping these animals in captivity as domestic pets, when there are so many others which have either been born in captivity and are accustomed to life in such conditions, or have a natural liking for and are happy in the society of man.
Among the former may be counted birds, such as canaries and parrots; of the latter, the dog and the cat are the commonest examples.
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The cat is a general favourite. As a kitten its playful ways are an unfailing source of amusement and, when grown up, it often becomes much attached to its master.
Though allowed to roam freely, it rarely fails to return home and, when a house has been closed and it has been left behind, it has been known to travel even hundreds of miles in search of its master. A story was recently told of a cat which saved its master’s life.
He was awakened one night by this cat, which was standing on his pillow and refused to leave the room until he rose from his bed. At last, convinced that something was wrong, he slipped quietly from his room, just in time to see an enemy putting poison into a bottle of liquid which he would drink the next day.
As a companion the cat compares unfavourably with the dog, perhaps the most sagacious of all animals. The dog has an excellent sense of time and soon begins to know the habits of its master. It will come to his bedside in the morning at the usual time of rising, will know when he generally goes for a walk, and
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be ready waiting in the hope of accompanying him. If allowed to under. it will return home in time for meals and will quickly learn on what expeditions it is not allowed to go. It can recognise and sorrow and will frequently offer sympathy. Many instances also could be quoted of the saving of human lives by dogs.
In certain countries in the East, the dog is often regarded with detestation, and it is true that the disagreeable animal which prowls round the villages can never be looked upon with affection; but, in Europe, where dogs are treated with great consideration, there are types which are worthy of the respect and companionship of man.