Platy And Perry: A part Of My life, A Part Of Me.

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.”  -Anatole France

Hey my fellow viewers/readers of People For Paws. This is Ananya Ganguli. I am a seventh grader and don’t know how to write an article at all. So I would begin with talking about my birds, Platy and Perry. I know these names might ring a bell for some of you — Platypus Perry from Disney’s Phineas And Ferb. But well, that’s exactly where the inspiration came from.

My sister and I have been crazy animal lovers since we could remember. We love all animals be it strays. Seeing an animal in pain always overwhelms us with grief and makes us wonder of the atrocities meted out onto these poor creatures who cannot voice their opinions themselves. Since my childhood I have always been motivated, and have myself motivated people into feeding these animals and providing shelter to them in the harsh climatic conditions of New Delhi. 

We’d always yearned to keep a puppy as a pet, but since we stay in a small flat and there’s no one to take care of it, we had to give up on that desire. Then we somehow convinced our dad to get us a hamster as a pet, but when we went to look at them, they were stinking real bad. (No offense.) But we had to get a pet at any cost because we knew that we wouldn’t get this golden opportunity easily again. So, we decided to get birds. We got a couple of blue-white love birds, and as now you know, named them Platy and Perry. The day we got them, I was so excited -  it felt like I had another part of me that could listen to all my crap without any interference, could keep all my secrets I couldn’t have kept myself and what not. But, approximately a month later or even less, Perry didn’t make it, and left us (R.I.P. Perry). I was so upset, I thought it was a nightmare, and I wished it was just a nightmare. I wrote a letter and a poem for him and we went to bury him. I even fixed up a box and made it into a coffin for the dear one. I had a tough time without Perry, and I was constantly thinking about Platy - how she was going to overcome Perry’s death. I did everything I possibly could. I also gradually realized I’d gotten so attached to my birds within such a short span of time, I thought they really were a part of my life, a part of me. And now in the present, Platy, I have discovered, can eat various food items, like, chicken, cake, etc. What a foodie. I know that sounds a little exaggerated, but trust me, it’s not. 

So friends, if you have a pet or pets, love them ’til your last breath. It’s been approximately 2 years since Perry’s passing, and I still have a part of her alive in my heart that’ll keep pumping its own life.

R.I.P. Perry.

Love you always.

-Ananya ganguli