You Just Have to Love ‘Em! Not Just Another Pet Story

beings. Though not a farmer, he had sheep, goats, horses, sugar cane, bananas, citrus fruits, and other edibles on another property. Those animals were not pets. The sheep and goats were for food he often shared with the extended family at Christmas and other special times. And the horses, you may wonder, well, as much as I loved a great ride, those were not pets but race horses that worked at the local Hobby Horse Race Track in Nassau. My love for animals has never waned, though, over the years, I have never considered having a pet to add to my already long list of responsibilities as an adult. This is perhaps why it is strange to see our youngest son do so fabulously well with pets that he began pet sitting on the island. His clients, some of whom have rescued dogs, call him the dog whisperer, and can’t believe he did not grow up with a slew of animals.

If you can’t care for them, why have them?

Teri M. Bethel is a publisher and author of relationship enrichment books, Bahamian-inspired romance, and adventure novels for children that share our island’s history and culture. Her books are available where good books are sold in Eleuthera, New Providence, and Amazon.com. Teri and her husband have two adult sons. Website: www.inspirepublishing.com

I totally get how people feel a closeness to their pets. As a child, there were always animals around. We probably had a minimum of four dogs at a time, a seemingly fresh litter of kittens every year, and a fish tank that we completely destroyed by adding fish from the sea to our freshwater collection. The kittens were on the wild side and never really stopped to allow you to pet them, but they let us know when they were hungry and often forced their way into the kitchen to see if they could help themselves if we didn’t get the hunger memo. It was a lovely time of our lives with six siblings and dogs we considered a part of the family. When we left home, daddy would always shout, “on guard, Twinkle,” or whatever dog trailed behind us. There was a chicken coop in the backyard, which we found pretty amusing for the years we enjoyed their company. Those we admired from outside the fence, we didn’t pet them as I now see children holding them and lovingly caring for them as you would any other pet. Our mother would collect the eggs the snakes left behind, and we would repeat the visit the next day.

Though in Nassau, our life in some respects was somewhat like what many folks on the Family Islands experienced. Daddy wanted us to taste farm or island life as he did as a child, and he thought it important to teach us how to care for animals. It was his way of teaching us how to be responsible and kind to human

I cannot understand why so many people who have pets choose not to take care of them. Rather than spay or neuter their pets, they would rather separate the pups from their mother, place them in a box and toss them in the road or the garbage dump. Then there are those who leave their dog chained in the sun with hardly any shelter, day after day, with little to no water. And how do you not allow your dog time to stretch its legs at least once a week? Sadly, it seems like bathing pets, whether a house dog or a yard pet, is no longer considered a necessity. There seems to be a growing number of dogs that roam the streets, some with collars, others without, and most in need of a good old-fashioned bath and a de-ticking regimen. It’s sad to see the dogs—some may have once been cute puppies, now only a shell of their former selves, with locks and, in many cases, the mange. Even dogs want to be clean and refreshed. It’s a delight to drive through some local settlements to see several dogs chilling in the low tide allowing the soft lapping of the waves to wash over them. I’ve yet to meet a dog who doesn’t enjoy this.

Many dog lovers or pet owners are unaware that we have laws about dogs on the street. But even if it is not the law for a dog to be walked with a collar and a leash, you would think it a simple courtesy to others to place one on. After all, not everyone knows and trusts your pet as you do. Someone with many rescued dogs would often let their dogs loose for a good run, even after cautioning about the discomfort to others. She eventually stopped, but before she did, walking in the yard had become an unpleasant minefield of her dog’s excrement. As a courtesy to others, perhaps you can walk your dog on a leash and travel with your pooper scooper if he wanders into someone’s yard to leave a scented deposit.

Consideration of others in the neighborhood

Dogs bark, and not every bark is a threat. Many times, they are just having a chat. You can tell when a dog is having a good time barking or when he is raising the alarm for you to stay away. Some dogs, however, are chronic yappers who disturb the peace day and night. If you have dogs and live in a small community, you should consider that many people are working from home these days. That means zoom or telephone calls and the works. If your dogs fit that bill, you may want to consider purchasing a device that would stop them from barking incessantly so the rest of the neighborhood can enjoy the serenity they’ve come to love about Eleuthera.

If you pass a dog and he’s excited to see you, don’t panic, and don’t agitate them by throwing rocks or other articles at them, especially if they are confined to a yard. On several occasions, I watched guests who were obvious dog lovers go to a neighbor’s yard, politely open the gate and let the dog out. Not only is that presumptuous, but it is dangerous. Fortunately, the dog knew me and ran into our yard, refusing to go with his human liberators. Some have many dogs, and they are allowed to roam the neighborhood at will. These dogs root up gardens, relieve themselves, and sometimes serenade the neighbors throughout the night. As a courtesy to your neighbors, you should consider enclosing your yard to secure your dog for the sake of peace in the neighborhood. If your neighbor wanted a dog, they would get one of their own.

The plight of rescued dogs

It’s sad to see the increase of rescued dogs on the rise. That means these pets are being abused. It’s no wonder the animals are turning around and hurting people. It seems they may have gotten their start from us humans. If you may not have considered it, abusing an animal is cruel. Pain hurts whether you are a human or an animal, and animals don’t usually forget their abusers. Many dogs, especially females, are also nurturing and kind. If need be, they will protect your children from you. As children, we pretended to spank each other to see what the dogs would do. Well, Twinkle, our golden Labrador, would have none of it. She was quick to intervene. I recently watched a video of a dog rescued from a riverbank with two of her pups. When she got safely to dry land, she heard her third pup squealing. That brave mama dog ran past her rescuers and endured the rough river conditions to get to her remaining puppy. Grabbing the puppy by the neck, she plunged into the cold water and returned to where her pups awaited her. A crowd had gathered to see this life lesson play out as the cold and wet mama dog pressed her way through the onlookers with her three pups in tow. Dogs are amazing. They are loyal and compassionate and deserve much better treatment than many of us are giving them. If you have a dog and it has become too much for you to care for, you can consider the following:

• Put it up for adoption,

• Ask your family to help you with it,

• Hire someone to walk the dog several times weekly,

• Allow someone to pop by and bathe or groom your dog monthly,

• And if they need to go to the vet, hire someone to take them.

Sometimes the help you need is in plain sight. All you need to do is look up and take action.