Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell

Since the very first time I could see, my fascination with animals has followed me throughout my life. My childhood goal was to become a Veterinarian and although plans have changed, my passion for animals remains. Pets that I have taken under my wing become my responsibility and my family no matter how small or big they are. This is now the concept that most modern day families have adopted. Some people even consider them their children. Life, however, is not eternal for these little creatures, and like all living beings, their time is numbered. Seeing how pets are considered a part of the family, experiencing a tragedy firsthand can be emotionally devastating, both at the incident and afterwards.
In the pursuit to gain knowledge and experience with animals my mother allowed me to keep several pets. Now, even though my career options changed, I still care for my six pets, which includes one lovebird, one parakeet, three tuxedo cats, and three dogs. I usually keep the two birds in separate cages in my room while the cats stay in the living room and the dogs outside. I have had several pets come and go with old age but never did I experience a pet’s death as horrific as the one that occurred two weeks ago.
My brothers and I had arrived home around 6:00 p.m. and all appeared normal as usual. I was only in the kitchen for five minutes when I heard my brothers screaming my name. I rushed over to the screams which led to my room. My brother’s faces were pale with fright while they waited outside my room door. It was as Orwell once mentioned, “Evidently there was something that the children ought not to have seen” (pg. 231). They pointed towards the birdcage and I immediately started thinking if I’d forgotten to feed the birds. Wh...

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...no longer hears her friend calling. The cats, even though it is their instincts to prey on birds, now are placed outside when no one is in the house and the last bird has been secured to prevent further incidents. Similar to losing a friend, mourning and trying to adjust to the loss of a pet is as hard. Pets have become more than companions; they have become family members. Owners must deal with the emotions that come in the days following the tragedy. Similar to Orwell in Shooting an Elephant, He went through a situation and learned from his mistakes, I had to experience a tragedy to learn that pets are family and that extra precautions are needed to prevent tragedies from occurring.

Works Cited

Orwell, George. "Shooting an Elephant." Fields of Reading: Motives for Writing. Ed. Nancy R. Comley, et al. 10th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013. 229-34. Print.