Pet first, partner later for women

When her pet parrot flew away, my neighbour in Mumbai remained depressed for days. When his pet dog in Mumbai died, my crestfallen buddy who worked in a leading newspaper in Dubai, quit his job and returned to his hometown. When a dear Tunisian friend’s beautiful dog died, she was in tears for days.

The owner-pet attachment is well known for ages.

However, what has been little known to me is that the way to a woman's heart is through her pet.

According to a new study by animal health organisation NOAH, a quarter of women would dump a man if their pet didn't like him – and a third would leave their own bed and sleep on the floor next to their pet if it was ill.

Half of British women claim they say “hello” to their dog or cat before anyone else when they get home, the Daily Mail has reported.

Thankfully, my wife has not been too keen to keep a pet at home. Maybe, she must have thought one is enough (Obviously me!).

By the way, I tested the veracity of this study. I met a stunning, cat-eyed lady at a conference in Dubai and the first question I asked was, “Do you have a pet at home?”

“Oh. I love Danny. He is such a cute Chinese Shih Tzu,” she started off.

My colleague had to give five missed-calls on my phone to inform that the car was waiting for my return trip.