Are there ‘Lucky Years’ for Pets?

Yumi Burgos

Is your pet “lucky” this Year of the Water Tiger, or any year in the Chinese calendar?

By Mariana Burgos

When we look at the readings of the Chinese horoscope, we hear such words as “lucky and unlucky”, “compatible and not compatible.” Having been raised in a Catholic family, I don’t believe in “luck.” Although sometimes you would hear me say the words, “ang swerte” (lucky) or “ang malas” (unlucky) because I got used to these words as expressions. But they’re just expressions for me and nothing more.

What I believe in is that “one reaps what he sows.” Meaning, if you make good of your life, good will return to you eventually. It may not be right away but in the end, it will. You just have to be determined, patient, good, and true to yourself and towards others to make your dreams come true in this life.

I’m not saying it will automatically be a breeze if you do so. On the contrary, it is a one big, difficult struggle to be doing what is good and what is right in a society that has so many evil temptations that could make one lose his way from the good path.

With our pets, particularly, some people are easily or unconsciously lured in a situation wherein they tend to treat their fur babies with their personal convenience and enjoyment in mind. It doesn’t matter if the pet is comfortable or happy. And when it bounces back to them, they would try to blame it on something else, not their own doing.

Take, for instance, people who put their pets on very short leashes or keep them in very small cages all their lives. If you put yourselves in the place of those animals, how would you feel? Would you say they were “unlucky”? Those animals were not unlucky. Rather, the humans who took them for pets and put them in those situations are cruel and, obviously, are uneducated.

People who are not conscious enough of their pets’ diets are another example. These mindless pet owners make the lives of their pets “unlucky.”

We all know that not all human food is good for our pets. That’s because our digestive system is very different from them. It’s only logical.  We ought to be careful with what we feed our pets. Not everything we eat they can eat too. So, if it happens that your pet gets sick because of what he or she ate, please, don’t blame it on luck. Blame it on yourself for not being careful with what you fed them.

Another example of carelessness with pets - and this is my personal opinion - are those people who love to breed animals for selling. They treat animals as  products, and not as a living thing. For me, this is somewhat like prostitution or human trafficking, or selling babies or children. Those animals are not “unlucky.” The people doing these are mindless, careless, and greedy.

So, you see, it’s not about our pets being lucky or unlucky during the year of the Water Tiger. It’s about being truly human, and being humane to animals.

About the Author: Mariana Burgos is a freelance artist. She has been a solo parent for 14 years now because she is wife to a desaparacido. She and her daughter are animal lovers and are active in advocating not only human rights but the rights of animals as well.

This is an edited version of an article originally published in the Manila Standard