Stray thoughts

Call me heartless, but I have absolutely no sympathy for stray animals or birds. There! I've said it right at the beginning. And in case you were planning on calling me to adopt a cute li'l stray off the roads, please take this as fair warning. I'm not interested. No matter how cute it is. And if you're my neighbour, please clean up after you're done feeding your four-legged friends. They don't just mess up the place, they also broker prime breeding property for creepy, crawly pests and assorted vermin who feast on their leftovers.

I'm a creature of the night and I really don't like it when packs of street canines get on my nerves when I'm minding my own business, walking home. And while I might not maim the curs barking my bike off their turf; make no mistake, I won't give them a corner should they strike first.

You're welcome to suggest therapy and feed me sob stories about how animal psychologists (they do exist!) will tell you some strays have problems far complicated than human beings and that you couldn't even begin to comprehend the far-reaching implications early abandonment has on their psyches. Blah, blah....

Would you consider adopting a human child? You wouldn't. There's far too much red tape involved. It's easier to be sympathetic to an animal. The instinct rule book would dictate that it wouldn't bite the hand that feeds it.

But if you are going to be responsible for a number of animals, keep it consistent. Sure, they need our help. But just helping them once and abandoning them when they become too difficult to handle, is also not the answer. I've seen it happen more than once. I know what I am talking about.

I'll admit it. I had a pet dog. A Dalmatian. I hated the spottyu00a0 thing as he woofed me up lofts screaming for months on end. But we eventually made our peace. A year later, Pluto lost his life to a "stray" attack (no puns intended) during a walk. On another night, I have seen a pack of stray dogs assault one of their own for straying into the wrong turf.

Maybe we should give these poor creatures their space to roam free without fear of provocation and assault (even from their own kind). I don't deny they lead horrible lives. But it's the same argument over and over again.u00a0

This is a country where we live in harmony with the creatures around us. An animal lover I know even went as far as to say it was no big deal if a stray dog did bite me. S''t happens to people all the time, she said. That I ought to treat it as just another bad day. And that if a crow or a pigeon took a dump on me, I ought to thank the heavens elephants don't fly.