It was about 2 years ago when my family visited my sister in Germany.
Roaming the streets of Austria, I could instantly tell them apart from the streets of Singapore. The sight of big dogs along with their owners were a common sight. Not only on streets, but almost anywhere-- restaurants, trains, stores. In some cases, there were unleashed. Yet amazingly, these seemingly frightening animals never made any sound and simply followed and obeyed their masters. Stray animals were also barely seen around.
When my family visited my brother-in-law's place, I met Suma, a hunting dog. His family members told us he was walked at least 3 times a day and they made sure his health was checked monthly. Furthermore, owners had to be trained for at least 3 months before they were licensed to own a pet.
Curious, I asked why Germans were so animal-loving. Their answer was simply because of their responsibility to own them. Sadly, this isn't the case for most Singaporeans. Judging from my observations, I would suppose that most Singaporeans do not respect animals as much as Germans do. Many Singaporeans own pets because their cuteness and petite-size appeal to them. And as there is no sentiment towards the responsibility of keeping animals, many owners grow tired of taking care of their pets after some time.
From this experience, I realized that even the treatment of animals does differentiate a country's culture!
Oh anyway, I happened to come across this funny video from Friends which illustrates about other intercultural differences. Thought I could share this. :D Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLg_opZIv3M
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ReplyDeleteHi Jia Ai,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the interesting story which depicts the intercultural difference between German and Singaporean. I agree with you that German has a sense of responsibility in keeping animals. I was indeed surprised to learn about this as this was never the case for Singapore. In Singapore, I do observe that there are responsible pet owners who take ownership of their pet, like clearing the dog poo etc. On the other hand, there is still a handful of pet owners who are irresponsible. For example, I have a neighbour who left his dog barking the whole sunday morning which caused noise pollution and disturbed the residents peace of mind to sleep. There is still a long way for Singapore to be like Germany despite our govenrment effort in promoting a gracious society. Nonetheless, I believe we can do it if we are determined to do so.
Regards
Kent
Hello Kent! thanks for replying so promptly. Come to think of it. I think I've over-generalize Singaporeans a bit too much. I feel like changing the post a bit, but ahhhhhhh. oh well, see how the comments will turn out. :|
ReplyDeleteHi Jia Ai,
ReplyDeleteThis is quite a lovely sharing. I also feel a huge cultural shock after reading your post.
I used to know that Europeans are experts in enjoying life. They only work overtime if necessary, they seldom work overtime just for the additional money, not like people in Beijing and Shanghai. I also hear that when their children grow up and ask for money to build a house, the parents seldom give monetary sponsorship directly. But they will choose to build the house together with their children. This will definitely help to foster and deepen the love between parents and children.
But I did not know that Europeans had such a warm animal culture. I also feel surprised when you are saying "these seemingly frightening animals never made any sound and simply followed and obeyed their masters". Human are also animals, we also belong to the nature. Perhaps when human and pet animals become friends or a family instead of master and pet, pets will behave originally. Because we are respecting them, we wish they can live healthily and happily as us, therefore, animals will love and respect us in turn.
Best regards,
Zhang Jiao
Hello Jia Ai,
ReplyDeleteI had read (early this year) of how pet shops were wary of selling their rabbits away for fear that their sale may be for the sake of a gift in lieu of the 'Rabbit Year'. Fortunately, there were no further reports of a spike in rabbit sales published. I think it is cruel to place such superficial value on a life and that education goes a long way into teaching us otherwise.
On the other end of the spectrum, I have a pair of relatives who have had the company of dogs for as long as they have been together. It is beautiful how a pet is able to complete and complement their romantic union. Unfortunately, we are often made aware of the irresponsible pet owners in society through newspapers or citizen journalism. I personally believe that equal respect is due to both the owner's choice of keeping a pet and the pet itself. The moral code of 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you' is a tried-and-tested method of preserving one's accountability and empathy. I believe these values can be inculcated into any culture; it is only a matter of time and effort.
Lastly, watching your video sparked my memory of another video which had depicted the difference between the habits of men and women. Below is the link to the enlightening video, enjoy!
How to Shower: Women vs Men - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qehxjub5lyo
Hi Jia Ai,
ReplyDeleteIt's true that not all pet owners are responsible
In Singapore, in addition to being responsible to their pets, pet owners and animal lovers who keep dogs have to remember two things when they bring their dogs for a walk in public:
1) There are Muslims
2) there are asthmatic people
I wonder how the Germans would react to people who don't share their love for dogs.
Regards,
Happy