My question to all the health care workers is, “Have you ever kept pets or tried to keep them?” If the answer is “yes,” then you are indeed very lucky. I think there are only two sources that can bring utter joy to humans in this life. One of them is children, and the other is pets. After a hectic day at work, when you reach home, the innocent laughter of your kids or the nearness of your pet, whatever might be the case, can actually help you get rid of your fatigue. You feel refreshed to see them. They just melt your heart with their innocence, and you forget the bitterness of the day.
Some people are very good with children, and some people are good with animals. I think that’s a gift that very few people have been bestowed with. When I was a child, birds of all sorts attracted me. I played a lot with baby chicks. I used to feed them all day and felt overjoyed when they started following me. A lot of times, my chicks grew into hens and cocks and lived for a long time. In our country, the concept of keeping a dog in the home is frowned upon because we believe that they can make the place of prayer impure. So I was left only with the option of either cats or birds, and as I couldn’t keep them together for obvious reasons, I chose the latter.
As time passed, this affection for animals became a part of my personality as I grew up. I kept quails, baby chicks, ducklings, pigeons, sparrows, fish, and baby turtles over different periods of time. As a kid, I cried a lot when any of my pets died.
When I was in medical school and during my house job, I forgot how happy I felt about keeping pets due to the rigorous study and busy schedule. When I joined residency, this zeal came back, and I bought four ducklings and two quails. My mom was always unhappy due to the fact that she had to clean their mess the whole day during my absence. Whenever I reached home, she would scold me a lot about how much work she had to do the whole day and how my birds were an extra burden on her. But I never listened to her because those birds gave me joy. My ducks were so attached to me that they started quacking on seeing me every evening. They ate everything I used to feed them, and they ate a lot. My father had to bring a lot of feed for them every day. My quails were also familiar with my voice, so much so that they started crowing as I talked to them. They lasted for quite some time. The ducks grew quite big over the following months. My siblings and I bathed them with soap and water every week, and then they used to play a lot with us in the sunlight. All of us felt excited when they splashed water and waddled all over the courtyard of our home.
I used to post their stories and videos on my social media, and all of my colleagues and friends knew that I loved my pets very much. My friends used to tease me for butchering my ducks and inviting them over for lunch because they knew how to tease me. One of my colleagues once mentioned a consultant whom we all hated due to his strictness with us, that he had also kept ducks at his home. I asked him, “Wow, so is this normal for people?” He joked, “Normal for only abnormal people.”
There came a phase in my life that I became seriously depressed and sick for months and forgot everything that gave me pleasure and joy. I even forgot my birds. My parents and siblings were so worried about my health that they also started ignoring my birds. My birds, who were so used to my love and care, started dying one by one until no one was left.
After I got better, some months later, I remembered my long-forgotten passion for keeping pets. This time I kept rabbits who are so adorable and fluffy. However, my mom still scolds me as they make a lot of mess, and she has to clean that multiple times a day. But I never take it seriously as I know that her anger is just temporary because I am her most pampered and spoiled child. Whenever I reach home after a hectic day, I just take one of them in my lap and feel comfortable while stroking its tiny head with my hand. Their cute little pink noses are so adorable. They are used to my presence and never try to resist whenever I try to touch them. I think keeping pets is an excellent stress buster. They are such lovable creatures that you feel joy and comfort in their presence.
Being close to animals and birds has taught me that they crave human touch as well. They also feel joyful when we cuddle them, stroke their heads, or see into their little eyes with love. They actually live for these moments when their owners touch or call them with affection, and likewise, they light us up. Keeping pets made me realize that this is a universal fact that no matter where we live, in whatever part of the globe, we all live for connection, we all crave for love. We should spare some moments every day out of our busy schedules to connect with our loved ones because moments like these keep us alive.
The famous Persian Sufi poet Hafez once said, “When all your desires are distilled, you will cast just two votes. To love more and to be happy.”
Damane Zehra is a radiation oncology resident in Pakistan.
