Are your pets just "pets?"

Prior to bringing Scruffy home, we knew very little about how to properly take care of a pet dog.  Different from animal lovers, we perceive pets as nothing more than four legged creatures.  Animal lovers might feel uncomfortable while reading this, but I only want to describe how we view pets before we had Scruffy.

Pets are not treated specially by their owners, well at least what I have seen and experienced while growing up.  Dogs for instance, have only one purpose, that is to guard its owner's house.  Commonly, dogs are fed with left over human food, and encased in a caged outside the house.  I know it sounds very cruel, but that was how most of our neighbors back home treat their dogs.  Aside from the dog owners, most dogs were feared by other people because of their aggressive nature.  Probably, one of the effects of being treated with less love and care.        

When we came to the United States, we were surprised with how much pet owners value their pets.  They treat them as if they are part of their family.  At first, we cannot comprehend with how much money these owners are willing to spend for their pets.  But then again, since they are considered as part of the family, you will do everything to provide for their well being.  Of course, one does not need to spend beyond his/her means in order to provide for his/her furry babies' needs.  Just make sure that you provide proper nutrition, vet care (This can be costly but I think you can search for low cost vet clinics), and most importantly TLC.