Love makes life beautiful but sorrow makes life precious. We humans always feel that we are the lords of creation and we are the only rational beings on earth. Though animals do not lead highly sophisticated lives like we do, they still feel the pleasure of love and the pain of separation. The joy with which a dog welcomes his master and the pain in the mother bear’s eyes when her baby cubs are snatched away profess to the fact that animals also feel these deep emotions that touch their hearts.

I once had a pet parrot and I called him Honey. After futile struggles for his liberty, Honey reconciled himself to his life in a small cage. Slowly he started looking forward to the short time my family spent with him. The dumb animal spoke of his joy through various actions. It was indeed touching to see him hop around the cage and jump down from the perch just to hear us clap for him. Somehow I grew to feel that he loved us in his silent but steadfast manner and looked forward to the lovely time that we spent with him as the only drop of happiness in a cup of bitter misery. But the call of the wild and his primal instincts to fly about freely was too strong to resist for long. One fine day Honey broke his bonds and the sky claimed him for her own. I am not sad that Honey has left us. I hope he will be safe and he will be able to enjoy the freedom that he missed. But I know and believe that even when he is playing with his mate or enjoying luscious fruits on the tree, he will remember his former master who tried her best to be good to him. Even though years have passed since Honey left us, I know he still loves us.

Humans have never appreciated the full value of an animal’s love. We humans who are selfish in our own way can never recognise the selfless love and devotion that animals give to their masters. Animals were not created to be the enemies of humans. It is the human race that is turning these tender-hearted animals into savage beasts. Let us make a tiny effort to treat animals with consideration and I assure you that your act of kindness will be repaid in the near future. Animals are wonderful creatures. There is a lot more that we have to learn about them. This knowledge cannot be attained in laboratories. This can be attained only through love and care. Let us make sure that no animal trembles and cowers at the word from a human mouth. Let us strengthen the bond between humans and animals.