Having lived in this environment for a while now I am glad that no new species of animals have been introduced into this place. Some animals can begin to misbehave when taking from one environment to another, hence the local fauna we have here has remained our domestic animals ever since.

I am very close to Poultry and it is a common sight to see goats, sheep and birds feeding around the neighborhood. These animals have been very useful to the ecology of this place and people have keeping most of them as pets.
Cats is a common sight here because people use it to keep away domestic rats from their homes and stores. Upon visiting each store it is possible to see cats around the place.

Pets some important human companions? Some pets are more than that now, as they have gradually turned out to become a part of the family or gradually take the place of some people in our lives.In situations where humans betray us, pets will never do so. That is why a friend of mine once said that books and pets are his most trusted companions.

I haven't really liked keeping pets in the early stages of my life. Whatever kind of animal they may be, I hate cats because of their hair because I am allergic to their skin. And our African culture attributes cats to being witchcraft agents. I remember how my mom would often wake up in the middle of the night to spray bottles of anointing oil all over the house just because she heard the sound of a cat by the window.


They believe that witches possess the bodies of these animals to come and perform their enterprise. Although this is not the reason why I hated cats in my early childhood days, with time I have gotten acquainted with their presence after seeing so many lovely and adorable cats and cats's pictures.

If I were to pick a pet as an adult now, I would prefer a dog to any other because they can be trained to do whatever we want them to. While I visited the north sometimes in 2022, I realized the importance of keeping pets, especially dogs. The northern part of the country, especially the state where I visited, can be named among the states where terrorism is centralized.

Some of the deadly terror groups in Nigeria have found their base there, and the state is known for a very high rate of kidnapping and killing. Even military personnel aren't exempt from these attacks.
In a state where the government and military are also afraid for their lives, everyone owes himself the duty to protect his own life and property. Everyone has a dog in the house. At first, I thought that it was because everyone loves to keep them as pets, but that was not the case.

My aunt, whom I have lived with, and her family kept some dogs with whom I later became friends. Jackie was the warmest companion and never disturbed us. I felt like she wouldn't be protective enough since she looked so calm and wouldn't hurt an ant, but one certain night, when there was fear of terror during the night, Jackie was restless and kept backing along with all the other neighbors dogs. She was giving us a warning, but whatever it was, we didn't open the door for fear and were only hoping that nothing bad happened. By the following morning, we heard the news that some community members were kidnapped at that time of the night, including someone who lived two flats away from us.

In another event, I had Jackie save me from a scorpion sting. We were seated outside the house at twilight when Jackie came to stay beside me on the mat, only for me to see her struggling with some insects. Upon getting up, we had the chickens join the fight, which eventually killed the scorpion. I was glad and saved from a sting that evening.
My aunty often let the dog go every night. Jackie was also responsible for protecting the poultry farm at night.

My stay in the state was hence short-lived because I didn't have enough emotional strength to deal with the incessant kidnapping and the news of it every now and then.I really felt it when I heard of the news of Jackie's death a year after I left the state. Even though Jackie had left some offspring, I was fond of her and wished that I could see her one more time.

Caring for our pets

This wouldn't be a challenge at all because the love we have for our pets and how useful they have been to us will make everyone look out for their pets as much as they do for themselves. I remember seeing a whole family follow their pet dog to a hospital because she felt ill and everyone was concern. Proper training, good grooming and adequate medical checkup will keeps our pets in good shape.

Pets are no ordinary animals but have found a home with men and are now an integral part of our lives. I wish to keep one, but that will be at a later date when I have some decent place to accommodate both of us.

Image 2,3, 4 are mine while all images are Canva generated

This is my submission to the #aprilinleo daily prompt day 23 and i invite you to check out this link for more interesting topics and be a participant.