August 3. “Button, do you think strays feel jealous towards their more privileged peers?”

“You mean the pedigreed ones who are privileged enough to live in flats with their owners and eat food that’s cooked for them?”

“I think they are. I’ve seen strays bark and sometimes even attack pets being taken for walks.”

“If strays feel jealous towards pets, are pets jealous of strays?”

“Maybe. Pets could be jealous of strays because of the freedom they enjoy.”

“What freedom?”

“Pets are served meals at a particular time and not when they choose, they are taken for walks when they do not want to go for walks for various reasons, they are sent to vets every month for check-ups which are sometimes very painful. Some are even sent to beauty salons for beauty treatments where they are washed and blow-dried and their toe-nails are painted and ribbons tied on top of their heads. There are people who pamper their pets shamelessly all of which, I am almost sure, are disliked by the pet. I am sure pets love to get dirty, roll in muck and eat when they are hungry. In other words, a pet is his master’s slave.”

“There are others who ill-treat them. Do you know that pets are often kept as status symbols?”

“What’s that?”

“People like boasting about the pedigree they own—I have a Great Dane or I have a German Shepherd or Bull Mastiff… Beyond that, it’s the house staff who cooks for him or takes him for a walk and even takes him to the vet for his monthly check-up. The master and mistress of the house are usually out partying. There was this minister who had a Great Dane and almost starved him to death and kept him tied up for days on end. When we are asked about our dog’s pedigree, we say very proudly that we have adopted strays who needed a home.”

“Shabby is an example of a pedigree who got thrown out on to the streets because his family had to return to their country.”

“Hundreds of dogs are abandoned or left at the BSPCA depending on the whims of their masters.”