Michael had many pets throughout his life, including birds and dogs, that influenced him and shaped his ambition to become a veterinarian. He discusses how people's choices in pets can reflect their identities or be influenced by stereotypes. Pets like his parakeet Jacko and boxer Bruno had a big impact on him. Overall, his experience with caring for animals has led him to want to help them for a living.
2. My Pets
Throughout my life, I have had many
different pets from fish to parrots. Out of all
these pets the two main types that have
had an impact on my life and my future
were the birds and dogs which I have had
and looked after in the past and also the
present. These animals have made me
who I am and shaped my current
ambitions since I was young.
3. Everyone's Pets
People usually buy pets because they feel power over
them, not in a bad way but in a way that the owner feels
in control of how their pets life shall turn out and the
ways that pet reacts, likes or dislikes something. I am
talking about the nurturing side of socialisation with
pets, because I think that’s what matters the most when
it comes to domestic pets and their behaviour.
Pets can be to let their owners into certain social groups or
so they can fit in better with groups their already in. This
may be just a certain friendship group at a place like a
dog grooming shop or even at certain animal
conventions where people can get together and have
something in common to talk about. Sometimes this
group may be something to do with a persons sexuality
or class and want to express it through having a pet of a
certain species and breed.
4. Stereotypical owners
Some people are judged by the pet they own or want. For
example, someone may be ridiculed and questioned
about his sexuality if they owned a dog like a poodle
because of the fact people think that small fluffy dogs are
something a woman would want and not a man. This is
not true and is just a stereotype but has lead people into
having second thoughts about the pets they own and
getting something to fit in such as a man with a Rotweiler
or Pit-bull would be seen as tough and burly and
therefore wouldn’t be mocked. But this can lead to the
pet suffering due to an owner that doesn’t really want it;
this can lead to the dog to becoming an anti-social
character and show aggression and dislike to people.
5. Everyone’s Pets
Pets can display a persons identity as if it
were a mirror image. If a pet – particularly
cats and dogs – are bought at a young
age, they learn from their owner like we do
from our parents when we’re young. They
will behave in a similar way, interact and
socialise like their parents from
observational learning.
6. My Childhood Birds
When I was fairly young, my Dad had several
Aviaries which were full of different species
of birds. I helped look after these birds with
their feeding.
The main bird which I had was named Jacko;
he was a ring necked parakeet and we kept
him as a house bird instead of outside
because he was unique. He was not a parrot
and yet copied things you say, and as I was The ring necked parakeet
only young this amazed me and I spent a lot
of time with him letting him out his cage and
watching him fly around and vandalise the
ornaments.
7. My Childhood Birds
Birds are seen as pets which would only be kept in
couples or maybe just a few at once and not
over fifty at one time. I think I would have
preferred to have not as many birds as we did
because of the time and effort needed to look
after them. Most people who look after a pet feel
in control of them due to the responsibility you
have over their life; but when you have so many
birds in one place, its hard to keep track of each
one individually and this makes it hard to make
sure they all get equal shares of attention food
and care overall.
8. Birds
People think birds to be any sort of
persons pet and this is true, but some
people would think the owner would
have to be certain stereotypes. For
Example, you wouldn’t imagine a large
bulky man to love birds, but its true.
Geoff Capes was Uk’s best Shot put at
one time and is also a well known
Budgie breeder. Budgies are small little
birds, like in the picture in the corner
(that’s Geoff Capes with his little
companions).
9. My Dogs
My dogs were probably the main pets which I had that
influenced me. I had a Yorkshire Terrier named
‘Philippas Princess’ (Pip for short). She was named after
my sister. My parents had her a year before I was born
and she lived until I was 14. This was quite an
achievement for a Yorkie. She had to be put down due to
a broken leg, but when the Vet was trying to help Pip
with her leg. This is the first time I’d seen a Vet and I was
amazed at how they treated her so nicely and I wanted
to be just like him. This is where my ambitions of
becoming a Vet first came from, and ever since – even
before this – I have had a key interest in animals.
10. Small Dogs
Most people see small dogs as ‘cute and cuddly’
and buy them for these reason and to show of to
their friends. Due to media and the way they
look, small dogs such as Yorkies and Toy
poodles have certain stereotypes about
them, such as it’s a girl’s dog or it’s an upper
class sort of dog (like Paris Hiltons dog). These
stereotypes aren't always true though, because
animals don’t have certain tastes for an owner
and the owner has a choice of what species he
wants to choose.
11. The Media’s Input
Celebrities and the media play a large role in the choices
people make when buying a pet. The news shows many
stories about a ‘Rabid Rotweiler’ or ‘Ferocious Snake’.
But what they don’t say is the reason the pet behaves
like this. This leads to people thinking all Rotweiler or
snakes are aggressive and attack on site, but that is not
the case and any animal species can be passive or
calm, depending on how they are brought up. Even
then, dogs were natural pack animals and therefore
people who say it is in their nature to attack are wrong
because if an animal has a human owner and have a
good social life with that owner and their family, it will
see human as part of the pack – and would only show
aggression when tempered, threatened or maybe if their
owner is in trouble, they will defend.
12. Dog Shows
I certainly don’t believe in dog shows and pet shows such as crufts
because they provoke owners to make their pet act in a certain way
whether they want to or not. This is not what having a pet is for and
goes against what you should really do and what the pet would like
to do as well. These shows prevent pets from playing because of
‘training’ and their owner is too busy to play and let their pet enjoy
itself. I may be wrong, some pets may love this fancy nonsense but
in my opinion, a playful creature like a dog would want to play, not
walk around as a show off ornament for their owner. Nature and
Nurture play a big roll in how pets and all animals act and behave
throughout their life. It affects what's right and wrong to them. Pets
are usually brought up like their owner, but if the owner is not a posh
person such as the people in Crufts, then the dog would not fit in
either and be excluded from that social group.
13. Bruno
My relationships with my pets were always fairly strong, but
Bruno the Boxer was by far my favourite. We had him
since he was a pup from our relatives litter of puppies
and he gradually grew larger than his own mother. I used
to play Tug-o-War with him using the hose pipe in the
back garden. Even when he was getting older he was
still mischievous and playful. Bruno was the reason I am
so interested in animals and want to help them for a
living as I get older because of how kind and caring they
are and how much fun the offer to their families. I value
Bruno so much because of his effect to me and my life
and also because he was the only ‘big dog’ my family
has had since I can remember.
14. Big Dogs
People would expect big dogs to be vicious and controlling, this isn't
always the case. The common stereotype for the owner of a
Staffordshire Terrier or maybe a Boxer is a large male – the sort of
person who can control such a large dog –. This is clearly not true
as dogs usually learn and get their behaviour aspects from their
owner when they were young (if they were taken at an older age).
My Nan and Granddad own a male Staffordshire Terrier.
These dogs can become fierce on heat and can be tough overall, but
my grandparents wouldn’t be able to stop him from running down a
path or biting something, but they do because this dog (Velvet) is
the calmest and simply the most foolish dog you’ll ever see. He does
not attack children even when they are messing with his toys or
food.
Dogs can potentially become very territorial, especially males, with their
food and belongings but this is in the wild they do this. People get
worried about seeing a dog in the street without an owner but some
domestic dogs are very passive and pleasant.
15. Snakes and Insects
Some people cant imagine having an insect like a spider
for a pet, but some people do – same with snakes and
other reptiles -. Imagine the owner of a spider, scorpion
or snake. You’d expect someone like Ozzy Osborne or
Marylyn Manson to have these, but not everyone has to
be a dark, shady character like this to own one. Snakes
are subtle creatures who usually are kept for the
responsibility and fascination of having a snake. They
require unique food compared to what you would feed
your dog or hamster, you would give it a mouse and
even large rats for its dinner.
16. Insects And Snakes
People like to have snakes and other pets like this because
of their reputations. These pets are considered exotic
and out-of-the-ordinary which makes people want one
due to the fact its different and from ‘somewhere else’.
This reflects Roger’s theory of the ideal self, and could
reflect an idea that people buy pets, like clothes or
accessories, to reflect the person they would like to be.
17. Pet Fish?
Most people wouldn’t buy a pet goldfish because they
would think it to be a waste of time and money, because
of their short life time and how they cant really do much.
Regardless of my interest in animals I just cant see a
purpose in buying these fish or any fish because of the
lack of things they can do. But people do buy fish,
maybe to train themselves with the responsibility of
having and caring for a pet or because of their calm, and
natural aspects. Koi ponds are what many people dream
of having in their garden because it offers solitude and a
resting place where you can sit and think.
I think this proves that, to me, pets are more than for show,
they are to interact and communicate with.
18. Fish
Fish are considered to be natural and calm creatures because they live
in water which is seen to be calming like the sea. Goldfish are the
main type of pet fish which people have. These were once bagged
and gave out at carnivals and theme parks because to a young
child, they are an animal they can keep.
Out of all the species of animals, I actually have an extreme interest in
fish compared to any others, because of the variety and the
mysteries they hold in places like the Unknown abyss and the ocean
but I would never have one as a pet because of the pets I have had
before and the energetic behaviour of these past pets. I have a pet
not to look at, but to look after and to play with. I think that pets are
meant to be fun and not to be an ornament like Paris’ dog or a
fish in a bowl.
19. The Ideal Self
This plays into the ownership of a pet
because people like to buy pets that
resemble them and who they are and
having a similar pet completes the person
they want to be and they way they would
like it. Some people don’t like having pets
at all but think that a pet can help
someone see who they are individually
and how they may have changed from
what they believed.
20. Overall
Overall, I value all of my pets and even my
friends and relatives pets which I know
because of how they treat you as well as
how important it is to treat them. In my
opinion, I think I liked the responsibility of
caring for a pet such as the birds or my
dogs. These animals shaped my future
aspirations for the better.
