Your True Best Friend

By: Dr. Nwachukwu Cornelius Eneh

Narrated by: Ted Ryan

Pet dogs provide us the comfort, emotional and psychological stability at all times, especially during difficult times. Dog owners and would-be owners should understand the basic necessity needed to build a healthy, friendly, and lasting relationship with common household breeds of dog, such as the choice of breed, coat types, grooming implications, training, what to feed/not to feed your dog, and many more.

Each year, thousands of dogs are bred and the offsprings adopted by individuals and families with the good intentions. Sometimes, these intentions last for a pretty long time, if not “till death do us part”. But in some, something happens that derails the good intentions. So many reasons lead to the short-lived relationship. An unavoidable situation such as busy schedule might result in lack of sufficient time to perform necessary tasks like grooming, exercising, and even feeding the dog properly. Such simple unintentional omissions gradually progress to complex situations in the welfare of the dog. The pet dog becomes the ultimate victim. The dog suffers endless unimaginable neglect and abuse in the hands of the humans they innocently trusted at the beginning of the relationship. Finally, the dog is taken away to a remote place and abandoned. Sometimes, mutilated and left to die in extreme weather conditions.

The only crime to the dog’s credit is having been adopted by an individual or family that has little experience or insufficient knowledge of what it takes to raise and enjoy the company of Man’s Best Friend from the very beginning. In more humane cases, the dog is handed over to a shelter. At the shelter, the dog waits patiently for a new life, home, and a future far beyond its control. Sometimes, the lucky dog ends up in well-deserved homes. The less lucky ones end up in worse situation with no hope of a decent rehabilitation in sight with endless plights, all for no fault of theirs.

Human beings should aim at ending this vicious cycle of cruelty, neglect, and abuse of pet animals like dogs. The only hope to achieve that is to patiently understand and learn what it takes to adopt and raise a pet dog before we make up our mind to adopt one for good. If for any giving consideration you cannot afford to maintain a pet dog, do not even entertain the idea to keep one. Dogs by nature are so gentle, loving, and over-trusting to humans that we cannot afford to betray these qualities.

©2018 Nwachukwu Cornelius Eneh (P)2019 Nwachukwu Cornelius eneh