Living toys

Photo Essay : Living Toys

Davao City, Philippines (12th November 2008) --- We love them; we take care of them - but it doesn't change the fact that our pets belong to our motley array of toys. The only difference is that these toys are beings with life on their own.

As living toys our pets give us a different sense of joy playing and taking care of them. We may be delighted with our latest version of our iPod or iPhone or our latest Canon or Nikon digital SLR. But our pets give us a different kind of meaning and happiness.

Unlike our electronic gadgets which we sometimes set aside in our storage bin if they run out of AA batteries, we can't do that with our pets.

Having those wiggly golden fishes in the acquarium meant you have to make occasional runs to the pet store to buy fish food. And of course, your naughty dog which punctually raps your bedroom door every morning at 6:00 am needs regular visit to the vets.

We make sacrifices for them. Maybe in their own world, they also make sacrifices for us. Man and pets tolerate each other, I suppose that's why they both live together in contentment with each other.

And even when they grow old and grumpy like human beings do, we continue to keep them. We don't discard them off for being old like our plasticky electronic toys. There are terms of endearment.