Household pets were once wild animals too

 We have all lost an animal that we have loved dearly. No matter how much we prepare for the inevitable, the death of a pet is heartwrenching. As a child, I adored a pet I simply called Black Cat (pictured). It belonged to people down the road, and every day after school it would appear on our doorstep wanting to be pampered and fed. After a while it turned up for breakfast too, and it wasn’t long before its owners left it permanently in our care. I suspect my mother had made it worth their while. Black Cat was an unusual looking animal because its tongue always protruded from its mouth and it was missing teeth which was probably the result of being hit by a car. What Black Cat missed in teeth she certainly made up for in personality. It was a very sad day when I returned home from school to be told by my mother that Black Cat had been run over, and killed. I buried her under the lemon tree in our backyard and from that day on I ate those lemons like apples. I watered and fertilized that lemon tree regularly, and she bore me fruit for many years. People are capable of amazing acts of devotion when it involves pet animals. Pets tend to bring out the very best in us and they give us a great appreciation of all animal species, and we often treat them far better than people. We are happy to give them our total undivided attention and in return we receive their unconditional loyalty and companionship so long as we keep their food bowl full. Black Cat didn’t see what was coming. We only have to look around us to see the erosion of natural habitat every day, and its consequences. Unlike Black Cat, we have the foresight of taking preventative action. We need to take direct action now in preserving natural habitat because it wasn't that long ago that household pets were living in abundant wilderness looking after themselves.