The Pets We Abandon

 

In Pakistan, owning pets especially expensive, high breed ones has sadly become more about social display than responsibility. People are buying pets simply for fun or to follow trends. These pets are gifted like toys on birthdays or kept to make Instagram stories look cute. But what happens when the charm wears off? They throw them out. Just like that.

I have personally witnessed this. I know families that kept a kitten only till it was small and “cute” and once it grew up, they dumped it outside their house, on roads, or worse, near trash bins. No one thinks about how that animal feels, how confused and scared it must be to be thrown out of the only home it ever knew. And this is not rare. Most of the rescued cats I have come across are Persian. That is not a coincidence.

Abuse of animals is a well-known issue that’s often talked about in media, but abandonment is something that people do not even consider wrong. It is not even seen as cruelty. They think, at least I did not beat it, as if that makes it okay. But giving a pet love and safety and then taking it away is one of the most silent, damaging forms of harm.

There are also cases where pets become ill cancer, paralysis, kidney failure. Instead of comforting them in their last days, many people simply get rid of them. They don’t want the “burden.” It’s easier to just let the animal die on the streets. What kind of emotional cruelty is that?

There are no clear laws in Pakistan that protect abandoned animals. No strong punishment. There are rescue shelters and private individuals who try to help, but they are overflowing. They are treating dumped pets, stray animals’ day. We need to talk about this more openly. We need to teach children that animals are not toys. That they feel heartbreak. That you don’t “gift” living beings like showpieces.

 If you are not ready to take care of an animal till the end of its life, don't bring it into your home at all. At the very least, as humans, we owe them loyalty.