The Importance of Pets

Recently I’ve been contemplating the role that pets play, and have played, in my life.

I’ve always been surrounded by animals; that’s an easy thing when you grow up in England! It seems that everyone has either a dog or a cat, or both as was our case. I was also lucky enough to have three ponies that were my main focus of attention for many years and brought me so much pleasure. Toby, the naughty first pony, who had real character and was quite a “Jack the lad.” Next came Gemini, Gem to her friends. She was a real high-class lady; totally dedicated to me and an affectionate friend. Soon after Gem came to live with us she gave birth to a foal called April. We called her that because she was born on 1st April. A beautiful palomino foal born to an aristocratic chestnut mare. Those days are long gone and distant memories.

When I moved to Beirut in 1985, I was immediately struck by the lack of animal life. It was the middle of the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990) and I suppose it should have come as no surprise that there weren’t any birds flying around. The nightly shelling sessions took care of that. I think the part I wasn’t prepared for was the lack of interest that the majority of the Lebanese population have towards animals. Things have been changing slowly over the years I’ve lived here. I suppose that we could now say we are in the phase where people find animals “cute” and want to have one. Unfortunately, most of them don’t really understand the commitment ownership of an animal brings.
Thomas Having a Nap

We are lucky enough to have two beautiful cats that share our lives up in Mansourieh. You may have read my previous posts about Lady. Well, she finally lost her battle with cancer in February, 2008. It was a great loss for us as she had been part of our family for 16 years. Thomas was forlorn! We struggled with the idea of getting another cat for a while. In May, someone leaving Lebanon needed a new home for their cat. It was a female, and she was black – just like Lady. It seemed too perfect to be true, so we decided to give it a try and see if Thomas would accept a new friend. It took about a week for him to stop hissing at her! If you could just see them now, washing each other and playing hide and seek underneath the bed…

Thomas and Bella need a rest after the most recent battle in "Cat Wars!" Needless to say, neither of them ever ends up with any injuries - except, perhaps, to their pride!

So, back to my original point. Animals bring a great deal of happiness to my life. Just having Thomas and Bella (our new lady of the house) waiting at the door when we get in at night always brings a big smile to all our faces, however tiring or stressful the day has been. In fact, as I type this Thomas is snuggled up against me.

As Bella proudly models the quilt my mum made for Matthew showing different flags from around the world it makes me think - Pet lovers of the World unite! :)