A pet is a domestic or tamed animal or bird kept for companionship or pleasure. Some may keep goats, sheep, parrots and even reptiles as pets but in Ghana, the most common pets are dogs and cats.

The dog has even earned the accolade, ‘man’s best friend’ because of how close it has been to man since time immemorial.

For some time now, many Ghanaians are not only keeping mongrels as pets, but have also developed the habit of acquiring Alsatian and other bigger foreign breeds like boerboels, rotweillers and labradors for their homes. We seem not only to be keeping them as pets, but for security as well. This has opened a window for the breeding of dogs for purely commercial purposes.

The challenge, however, is whether we are keeping our part of the bargain as far as this relationship between man and animals are concerned.

Professor Paa Kobina Turkson, Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ghana, observes that for some Ghanaians, the presence of an Alsatian or other foreign dogs in the home has become a status symbol, just like owning the latest car model, mobile phone or house. People seem to want to improve their image by being seen with Alsatian dogs.

Prof. Turkson said it is becoming common on the streets of Accra to see dogs going for a ride in vehicles with their owners and some in sunglasses on the beach.

Responsible pet keeping

Unfortunately, some Ghanaians have acquired these dogs without thinking about their responsibilities to them. So we have copied the foreign culture of pet keeping but are not doing it the right way. A few such dogs can be found roaming the streets of Accra with no escorts, going free range and looking unkempt, just like our traditional mongrels.

This situation is, however, not too surprising, knowing the general attitude of some Ghanaians towards their own children, not to talk of pets.

We leave our children roaming the streets, half-clad, sometimes crying because they are hungry and sending them on errands without weighing the risks with regard to their ages.

If we do not generally care about our children, is it surprising how we treat pets?

Dr Sherry Johnson, veterinarian and lecturer at the School of Veterinary Medicine of the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, is advocating responsible pet keeping among Ghanaians for the mutual benefit of the pet owners and the pets.

In an interview, she explained that responsible pet keeping meant disease control by seeking the wellbeing of pets including proper feeding, shelter and exercising, advice from the veterinary for vaccination etc and their general welfare.

Dr Johnson finds it unacceptable that some Ghanaians acquired pets without making the vet their first port of call.

“When you acquire a pet, the first port of call should be the vet for the necessary screening and advice,” Dr Johnson advises.

Disease control /vaccination

She said doing that could help prevent certain diseases that could easily be transferred from animals to man, especially children.

For instance, she says that dogs should not defecate in the same kennel where they are kept because there could be some worms including hook and round worms in their poo which could contaminate the environment. People in the house, especially children, could also be infected.

She said that contrary to perception that a rabid dog could easily be identified, certain dogs could be reservoirs of the virus, showing no signs at all and could transmit the virus to man and that is why vet services are essential.

She mentioned two types of the rabies virus as the domestic and the “wild’ type. Dogs that go into the wild /bush to hunt are likely to bring home the wild type.

As she puts it, “keeping a pet could provide many benefits like companionship, but it can be a source of joy, and sorrow if it is well taken care of”.

Prof. Turkson states that generally Ghanaians do not take good care of animals. Most of the time people acquire pets as gifts and they see them as burdens.

“We feed our dogs on leftovers and we do not care much about their welfare. Some would buy dogs not because they want them as pets but because they want them as watchdogs or a first line of defence. In effect, some of these dogs have to work for their food” , he said.

“We do not generally want to invest in vaccination etc so we leave them roaming as community watchdogs in packs and if they are lucky, they get left overs and some water, otherwise it is God who takes care of them”.

Prof. Turkson spoke of a situation where during mass vaccination exercises pet owners could just look on saying “ there the dog is , if you can catch it vaccinate it”.

He thinks that there is the need for one to think before acquiring a pet. “Think whether you would have time for it; if not, please do not get one”, he says.

Prof. Turkson is of the view that”It is our God-given responsibility to take care of pets. We need to give them the space and recognition they deserve.”

It follows, therefore, that certain basic things are expected of a pet owner. The owner has to feed, groom, ensure that the pet is in good health and spend time with it.

Pets may be detrimental to their health if certain requirements are not met. The dog may be able to fend for itself in the wild, but once it is confined, it should be fed properly and its general welfare sought.

In return for the care, the pet may also keep the owner company and in the case of dogs, some of them may even be trained to be guards and become more loyal to their masters than a human being can ever be. There appears to be an unwritten contract we keep violating all the time and the earlier we kept our part of the bargain, the better it will be for both man and pet.