Pet a la Bali

Friday, March 14th, 2008 by Sidarta Wijaya

Having a pet is a trend that constantly rising for years in Bali, which is shown by the rising number of pet and pet owner in Bali. Pet shops sprung here and there to fulfill the rising demand on pet food, pet accessories, and other pet related things. Now you can see afternoon two or three people walking their dog in Public Park, and to a sight that impossible to behold forty or thirty years ago.

In the bygone days, petting is an alien concept in Balinese mind; dogs, cats or other animals were just animal and did not deserve love and care since love and care only fit for human. At that time, the only noble position for a dog is to be sacrificed in a ceremony; domesticated animal such as cows, water buffalos and pigs had a better position since they were fed and sometimes provided with a pen. As for dogs and cats, they wandered around freely. The massive number of street dogs at that time made Covarrubias concluded that dogs were the things that keep Bali away from perfection.