By Haris Vongli
I am now sitting in a bar in the “block area” having a coffee; it is a very beautiful sunny day and in front of me I see two young ladies walking their dogs. All of the sudden this view reminds me of something in the past, the communist rule. During that regime, our official propaganda used such views of westernized countries, of people walking on the streets with their dogs, to give the wrong impression of a harsh and depressed western society which we should not adopt. What a paradoxical contrastơt that time, over twenty years ago, people had to take such propaganda for granted, at a time when nowadays most common things were completely forbidden. We had to believe that the western reality presented to us was a misery and the one we were living was the perfect one. While nowadays, the two young women I am watching reflect another realityơ positive, civilized reality in progress.
Having a dog, a cat, or even other animals at home is becoming a common observable fact, a day to day trend. While not too far than two decades ago, dogs for instance, were kept only by shepherds in order to protect other animals. Nowadays we have adopted this westernized culture of keeping pets at home, which is of course a very important change for Albania and Albanians who have started to change their concept about animals, and as a consequence be aware of their rights and importance in our lives.
At last, in Albania we have a hospital for pets; a completed veterinary centre which offers not only a medical care for pets but also a hotel, grooming and pet shop. I had the pleasure to meet the leader of such wonderful project, Mr. G
