2012-03-14      Pets

A long time ago when I was at school in Australia, a teacher told my class something that I have never forgotten.
The teacher said "notice how people often look like their pets". When I came to Hong Kong, I discovered that there is a Chinese saying for this idea: 物似主人形 "a pet looks like its owner".

I wonder why this is true?  Maybe when people buy a pet, they choose one that somehow reflects their personality.
This is especially true of dogs. Dogs often look like their owners. The resemblance is often uncanny (神秘的?).
Which reminds me of a joke from the movie "Airbud" about the Golden Retriever "Buddy" who likes to play basketball.
"Buddy" is recruited for the school basketball team when some of the students are unable to play because of injury.
When "Buddy" takes his place on the court, the announcer says "we now have a new player, K-9".  "K-9" is the same sound as "canine" which means "of or like a dog"!

In Hong Kong many people are concerned about the situation of pets. Many animals are soon abandoned after they are bought from a pet shop. So we have advertisements encouraging parents to think twice about buying a pet for their children.
Some pet shops themselves are a concern. They often keep large dogs and large cats in a small cage (..not in the same cage!).
In some countries this would be illegal, because it's cruel to the animals, especially when they are cooped up for many months and rarely let out of the cages. Some owners also follow this unfortunate practice. In their homes they keep a large dog or cat in a small cage. I hope HK can some day have laws which protect animals from such treatment.

p.s. I am a dog, born in the Year of the Dog!