1st: Simran Ketan Rathod, 15, Tanjong Katong Girls’ School
Tara
When I was 10, I made my mother promise me that she would buy me a pet dog if I got I got more than 85 marks for all my subjects. That year, I had studied all my subjects with full passion and determination. And I did it. I had fulfilled what I needed to do to get a pet dog. As a volunteer of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), I had an eye for a particular dog that made my heart melt every time I saw it.
That dog’s name was Tara, a rather old Labrador breed dog. It only had three legs and was unfortunately abandoned by its previous owner. Sometimes I wondered how any human could be so cruel to the most precious thing they could ever have. I went to SPCA along with my parents to finally adopt the dog I always wanted.
After finally filling up numerous forms, I officially adopted Tara, a dog I could call mine at last. As I had taken care of Tara previously in SPCA, it was familiar to me and had returned affection that I showed to her. But it was unfamiliar to the surroundings of my house and grew slightly apprehensive. Luckily, due to the loads of love my family and I had given to her, she quickly became used to and comfortable to the surroundings. She finally had a home where she would be cared for as long as she lived.
The more time I spend with Tara, the more I fell in love with her. Despite the fact that Tara was not the most physically capable dog, it was still enthusiastic when it came to playing games with her. To tell you the truth, I had never been happier until she was mine. She was full of life, and that always made me feel better. That was when; I finally had a best friend.
So what is a best friend? It is someone, or something, that will always be there for you, no matter if you are in a difficult situation or not, and will never fail to make you smile. Tara had done everything that a best friend would do for you. She made me happy when I was upset with things that had happened to me. She was there for me no matter how I looked or what I did. She did things that no other people (except my family of course) had done for me.
One fine day, I decided to bring Tara to the park nearby my house so that she could play a game of ‘fetch’. My PSLE was coming soon and I wanted to play with Tara as would not be able to spend much time with her later on. Once I reached the park, I threw a ball so that Tara could catch it. Tara could not immediately catch the ball, but her determination to find the ball amazed me. Once she found the ball, she came running towards me, and hence I decided to give her dog treats. Happily, Tara waited for me to throw the ball again. But this time, Tara was standing towards the roadside. It did not occur to me at that moment that it might be dangerous for Tara, and instead threw the ball without thinking.
The next thing that happened made my head spin. The ball rolled so far that it went on the road. Tara did not stop and kept on running towards the ball. I screamed her name multiple number of times but it was too late. A car driving past speed limit was coming towards the dog. And that was it. The car had run over my precious dog, and did not even stop. On the road, I saw the crushed body of Tara and I could no longer take it. The sight of her dead body made me nauseous and I fainted.
When I gained consciousness, the first thing I saw were my parents. Their face was filled with worry and grief. I remembered Tara getting run over by a car and started crying profusely. I could not belief she was dead, gone forever from my life. I had a hard time explaining what had happened, to my parents.
Till this day, I still grieve over Tara’s death. Due to my carelessness, Tara had lost her life. If I had paid attention to my surroundings just for a second, maybe, today, she might be living.
My family has been telling me to forgive myself and move on, and I keep trying to. One day, I may move on from this incident and forget about my best friend’s death, but today is not the day.
I still have not found a friend like her, who has accepted the way I am. Maybe, when I go to a pet shop to look for another pet, as my parents had encouraged me to do, I may find someone that may remind me of Tara, my precious angel, my best friend.
2nd: Kim Min Kyung, 13, Tanjong Katong Girls’ School
Goldy
I have a pet name Goldy. It’s a golden retriever dog and I got my precious gold when it was my fourth birthday. He was another life to me. I did everything together with him; he was my pet, my family member, and my best friend. I still find his name funny because i named him when I as five and insisted that name even though my family said it sounded weird.
In Primary School, I was bullied by a group of classmates. It made me really stressed and I cried every night scared to go to school. I wanted to tell someone but my friends, I couldn’t trust them and I was worried my family members would be worried for me and my parents don’t really care. But one day as I was crying Goldy went inside my room and licked my tear off. He rubbed against me and licked my cheek. He looked at me as if he was saying,” What’s wrong? Don’t cry, tell me what happened.” I felt comforted and warm inside my heart something I never felt before. Even though I knew he would not understand but I told him everything that happened. I hugged him tightly and cried and cried and cried. But this time, I didn’t cry because I was sad but because I was happy, relieved, comforted.
In school, I would feel depressed but every time I come home it feels like paradise. My mom and dad are both busy with work so they never come home. Sometimes when I study hard and come back you hope someone would be there to welcome you, prepare lunch but that was not going to happen. Instead a dog wagging its tail happily every time it sees me makes me welcoming. I would come home and play with him, tell him what happened in school and a lot more.
When I’m very busy with schoolwork no time to play with him, he would bring out the leash climbing up my bed and pleading me. At times, I feel like pinching his cheek as he is so adorable. When I am upset and got an argument with my sister he would act cute and be playful which makes me happier again. But he’s not always lovely. When it comes to trimming of nails he would be a violent dog that you cannot imagine. He would bite me and I’m about to cut that I would bleed. Still, after all this chaos he could come around and lick the place he bit showing his apology. There are also times when he refuses to eat his food because I did not play with him which makes me very annoyed.
But when I turned 10, he was no longer in my life. He was ran over by a reckless car. He was whisked to the hospital but it was too late. I felt like my life was torn apart, shattered into pieces. I could not believe my best friend is gone, no longer there anymore. I wondered how I am tolerate the bullies, how am I going to be happy. Goldy was part of my life. He brought me happiness, love, and much more than you can compare. There would be no other pets like him and even though he is not beside me but he would always be inside my heart, a best friend.
3rd: Zheng ShiYun
Pets
Man’s relation with animals is very old. They can be traced back to the beginning of civilization. Basically man is also an animal, but a rational and wise animal. Man is the best creation and measure of all things. However, his kinship with animals is well established. Darwin believed that man has evolved from monkeys. Thus, they are our ancestors.
The friendship between man and animals is more reliable and lasting. The pet animals respond better to our care, love and friendship. Man’s friendship with man may not last long, but it is of permanent nature with the domesticated and pet animals. Animals, birds and such other creatures are never ungrateful. Once friends, they are always friends. They will never turn hostile or enemies came what may. They are constant, loyal and faithful till the last. They do not know betrayal, deceit or foul play. That is why they have been so useful to mankind. Many of the animals are our real and true friends. They live in perfect harmony and friendship with us.
I never got any pets before, but I knew many stories between pets and their owner. Let me tell you a story about one royal dog. It happened on a dark Sunday evening in British Columbia, Canada, when Austin went outside to collect wood for his family’s wood-burning furnace. He noticed that Angel, his happy-go-lucky golden retriever, was acting much more cautious and guarded than usual. Within moments, a cougar tried to pounce on Austin from less than 10 feet away. Angel jumped directly into the big cat’s path and bore the brunt of the attack instead. “She was my best friend, but now she’s even greater to me. She’s more than a best friend now,” Austin said after the attack, which almost certainly would have killed Angel if a local police constable hadn’t managed to shoot the cougar. The 18-month-old dog had surgery to repair extensive injuries to her head. “I was just lucky my dog was there, because it happened so fast I wouldn’t have known what hit me,” Austin said. “I bought her a big, nice juicy steak.”
Not only dogs but also cats can save owners life. Some cats, like Baby the 13-year-old tabby, tend to be timid all their lives. But on a night in January when multiple lives were at stake, Baby’s personality changed.
Josh Ornberg and Letitia Kovalovsky — who was seven months pregnant with twins — had fallen asleep on the couch in their suburban Chicago home. The couple’s house was stocked with baby gear and recently assembled cribs.
A fire began in a back bedroom, and the house began filling with smoke. Baby jumped on Ornberg and woke him up. “It’s kind of embarrassing that I needed my cat to wake me up, but she was my fire detector,” Ornberg told PeoplePets.com. “She’s usually not a very social cat, but she jumped on my lap and was jumping around.”
The fire destroyed nearly all of the couple’s possessions and made the home uninhabitable for a time — but everyone survived. Wonder Lake Fire Protection Assistant Chief Mike Weber called Baby a hero. “We don’t know what the outcome would have been if not for the cat,” Weber said.
That is why I say that pets are my best friend, even though I do not have any pets. Through these stories, I saw the loyalty of pets as friends, I will not treat them as animals any more, they will be my friends, best friends.
