In the TEDxSurat talk titled “Your Relationship May Be the Cause of an Illegal Pet Trade Industry,” Dr. Nimit Oza shares a personal story of bringing home a puppy and the unexpected challenges that arose. What started as a joyous moment soon turned into a nightmare as the puppy, named Vishka, began displaying aggressive and unpredictable behavior. After seeking the advice of a dog trainer, it became clear that Vishka was suffering from behavioral disorders due to being separated from her mother at a very young age.
Dr. Oza delves into the darker side of the pet trade industry, highlighting the existence of puppy mills and illegal breeding practices. He emphasizes the importance of checking for a pet pedigree certificate and buying pets from licensed breeders to ensure proper scientific breeding practices and the well-being of the animals. Dr. Oza also discusses the responsibility of the consumer in preventing the illegal pet trade by making informed and ethical choices when purchasing pets.
Ultimately, the talk challenges the audience to consider the ethical implications of owning pets and to prioritize the well-being of the animals over personal desires. Dr. Oza’s powerful and thought-provoking talk serves as a reminder of the importance of being responsible and informed pet owners.
Watch the video by TEDxTalks
Author Video Description
Dr Nimit made an alarming discovery about the illegal pet trade industry when his pet, a dog, underwent a psychological disorder and started owner biting. This talk highlights the current scenario in the pet trade industry and raises a concern on how we are the reasons behind it. Dr Nimit Oza is a a Urologist (Uro-surgeon) by profession and an author by passion. He is a dreamer, doer, and educator. He has published over 17 literary books and is also a columnist, content creator, and orator.
Apart from treating patients in surgical practice, he tries to reduce the suffering of others through his written/spoken words. He believes words can hurt, help, or heal; and he chooses his words to the best of his ability to help and heal others. He has been a depression warrior and growing mental health issues among the youth is a major concern to him. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
[Applause] it was a Sunday morning when I visited a local Pat shop took home a little basket and pleasantly surprised my daughter handing her the basket I said this is the gift that I always wanted to give you she opened the basket and joyfully jumped when she noticed a small white
Puppy waiting to play with her the puppy was just 30 days old my daughter took her in her hands with great joy and named her vishka and soon vishka became an integral part of our family we started enjoying her white F lying on our sofa that Restless run
After a bath that pungent smell of her food and her vaccination schedule May It Be restaurants Parks social Gatherings or long drives we took vishka with us whereever ever we went she had gone to shopping with us I vividly remember the day when we had checked into a hotel where pets were
Prohibited and still somehow I convinced the manager to let vishka stay in our room we promised him that we will clean the mattress or the floor if vishka spoils it we had become so emotionally attached to vishka that we could not imagine our lives without her but then something unusual
Happened One Fine morning when my wife tried to greet rishka with a gentle touch on her back she reacted furiously she grabbed my wife’s nose and penetrated her small but sharp teeth into her nostrils we all were shocked to see such violent and unexpected behavior of vishka but then she suddenly started
Waging her tail vigorously and licking my wife’s face though silent her sorry was loud and clear we forgot this incident believing it must have been our mistake in handling in her but gradually her biting episodes started increasing her mild but unpredictable owner biting attacks with different family members continued repeatedly
Followed by guilt apology and rebound love as a compensation for that mistake but one day vishka scared us that weekend she had had gone to a nearby City with my parents while returning my mother offered some food to vishka in the car believing she must be hungry when vishka no longer seemed to
Eat that food my mother reached to that unattended food to pick it up just in time vishka grabbed my mother’s hand between her teeth and bit her badly leaving her wounded my mother was in severe pain and Agony as she was taking an anti-platelet drug it was challenging for my father to
Stop the bleeding they were in the middle of a highway with no medical help they tried multiple things and after some time with great difficulty they could arrest the bleeding but when I learned about this incident I was shaken with guilt sadness and fear here I started introspecting if my
Decision to own a Pat was right or not to affirm my decision I contacted a certified dog trainer he listened to my entire story with a faint Smile as if he knew what I was talking about and after a long pause he told me that vishka was suffering from
Behavioral disorders such as fear related aggression and resource guarding he also said that if a pat starts biting the owner repeatedly reversing or treating that behavior of a Pat is challenging I was alarmed empathetically I asked then what is the future of such packs and what should we we do about
Vishka and he said you have to send her away you should not keep such dangerous Pats inside your house and I was stunned I couldn’t believe how could such a cute innocent loyal animal be dangerous from his understanding the apparent reason for vishka impulsive owner biting was fear and
Insecurity but then there was no reason for vishka to feel insecure or fearful we never threshed threatened or punished her then what was the core reason responsible for vishka abnormal behavior whatever reason it could be with each passing day vishka abnormal behavior was surging so despite all the love and
Attachment we had towards her we finally had to send her away to a rehab center when she got into the car with us she was completely unaware that she was living us forever and a part of us was also living with her forever that night I couldn’t sleep I was
Heartbroken and engulfed with guilt regret and betrayal visuals of vishka memories haunted me all the night but then who is responsible for this emotional trauma whether I made the wrong move of bringing vishka home or whether vishka was undeserving of all the love and care that she got this
Question led me to the discovery that I was totally unprepared for and that’s why I’m here there is a large amount of illegal tread of Pats happening in the form of puppy mills a puppy mill is a commercial dog breeding activity characterized by quick breeding pathetic living conditions and poor
Scientific knowledge when I researched more about it I found that one should always ask or check for a pet pedigree certificate before buying a puppy a pedigree shows A Pet’s ancestry and proves that the dog was bred scientifically I learned that we should always buy pads from licensed
Breeders but the shocking fact is that there are more than one lak Pat shops and breeders in India and out of them only 500 odd are registered rest all are puppy mills and the most dangerous practice a puppy meal follows is inbreeding that is mating between the two dogs of the same
Family having the same genes inbreeding increases the risk of hereditary diseases and is hazardous for A Pet’s Health concurrently the second most perilous practice that a puppy me follow is poor socialization that is early separation of puppies from their mother ideally a puppy should be allowed to be
With her mother for at least 8 to 10 weeks after the birth it is during this time a puppy learns canine behavior from her mother and siblings a puppy feels secure and confident about the outside world in her mother’s company separating a puppy before 8 weeks may lead to behavioral problems in a
Pet and unfortunately vishka was just 30 days old when the breeder sold her to us so it is perfectly understandable why vishka behaved the way she did her fear inse security and suspicion about the outside world were Justified her hostility and aggression towards us was a behavioral flaw that she herself was unaware
Of we fail to understand that we can’t hold animals responsible for misbehavior if we humans are genetically socially and emotionally manipulating them just for our own benefit benefit we learned two lessons from this entire incident one it is not only the breeder who is responsible for this illegal
Patad an ignorant consumer like me is equally responsible who is willing to buy puppies and pets from unauthorized breeders just because it is cheaper and two no matter how much attached we are to a loved one if there is threat to our physical mental or emotional health we need to
Make our boundaries clear and protect our peace of mind only two questions in the end do we really need pets and if yes can we prevent this bilateral emotional trauma thank you so [Applause] Much
About TEDxTalks
TEDx is an international community that organizes TED-style events anywhere and everywhere — celebrating locally-driven ideas and elevating them to a global stage. TEDx events are produced independently of TED conferences, each event curates speakers on their own, but based on TED’s format and rules.
Video “Your relationship may be the cause of an illegal pet trade industry | Dr Nimit Oza | TEDxSurat” was uploaded on 01/12/2024 to Youtube Channel TEDx Talks