“Mans best friend.” This symbiotic relationship between man and animals can be traced back to prehistoric times. Domesticating animals was a smart way to benefit from animals while reciprocating by feeding them and giving them a home. For example, dogs have stronger jaws and are efficient at tracking prey, so they were useful for hunting or protecting land. In almost every corner and culture in the world, you’ll find pets. Although many domesticated animals are still used for work, more and more pets are purchased for companionship. Breeders and shop owners sell animals for aesthetic purposes. The sales of exotic animals have increased a lot, which the ultimate sign of status.

I’ve been interested in animals ever since I was a child. My mom, jokingly, would tell people I was going to become a Veterinarian. That idea quickly dissolved when I reached high school and almost failed Biology in grades 11 and 12. I also liked animals that were intact and not cut open. Now I’m in Radio Arts and Entertainment, but my love of animals has never dissipated.

I have lived in my mom’s house all my life. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to have pets since we have landlords. That was the excuse my mom gave us, but in my opinion, it was mostly because of the work involved. My satisfaction usually came from my grandparent’s houses. My grandma owned a black lab for many years but unfortunately passed away before I was old enough to remember it that much, and my grandpa had cats for many years. Fortunately, my grandma’s acreage is adjacent to two other properties. These two other properties always had dogs around. Whenever my brother and I would visit her, we would whistle a few times and Mason would run over with excitement. We were kids that stayed out all day and could give a dog all the attention in the world. Mason was a medium-sized black dog with hints of tan on his tail and around his nose. There was one other great bernard who occasionally came over named Doser.

These two dogs stayed with us religiously when we were there. Around noon my brother and I would go outside, call them over and stay there until dinner time. The two dogs were easily pleased and only needed a few branches to keep them satisfied. When they were there, I treated them as if they were my pets and I know the relationship was mutual. Mason hasn’t come around for a few years now. Even though they hung out with us, they were technically not ours.

I wished for a cat or a dog, and many of my friends and family members did have proper pets. For my eighth birthday, my mom let us get two hamsters as an alternative. They probably cost less than 20$, the cage probably costed more. It was no puppy, but for a pet-loving kid who had never owned one, I was ecstatic. I got a white one and named it Snowy while my brother got a brown one. The two hamsters were initially in cardboard boxes, but we decided to move them into a proper cage. We set up the cage in the bathroom and put them both in. Everything was going fine, we thought nothing of it, what could go wrong with two males living in the same cage. We quickly realized that these two hamsters were born to be archenemies. They were fine at first, but as roommates go, eventually they got irritated with each other.

One day we came back from school, both of them were bloody from fighting. My mom came up with a brilliant plan on how to separate them. She would construct a wall that would split the cage in two. Each of them had their bachelor pad and should have been satisfied, but life couldn’t be that easy. One day I walked into the bathroom, did my business, and when I was leaving noticed something strange. The barrier was still intact, but both hamsters were on one side of the cage. Perplexed, I looked closer and realized my brother’s hamster was very gashed up. He had squeezed himself under the metal wired barrier just to fight Snowy. He was obviously very motivated because even after injuring himself, he still ended up doing a number on Snowy. Even with all the roadblocks, the two hamsters ended up living for two years.

I definitely realize the commitment needed to keep a pet. Although these two hamsters were a handful to take care of, I’m not put off by owning a pet. I wouldn’t scrutinize my mom with surprising her by bringing home an animal, I frequently check cats up for adoption. So eventually, I have no doubts that I’ll own a cat or a dog when I have my own place.