I've thought a lot about this, and (at least where Christianity and Islam are concerned), I think it is because these religions, and the cultures which often go along with them, draw a line "under" "us":
1) above that line are at least MOST of the people who are homo sapiens sapiens (lots of people think this isn't totally true of certain other races, for example), and
2) "the animals" (meaning: any creature who is not homo sapiens sapiens)
There is a continuum here, and "we" are just as much "animals" as those who are not of our own species.
It's a stupid, indefensible "line" that--with our constantly expanding knowledge--has increasingly less to do with anything scientific with every passing day.
almost Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > As long as animals are used as a food source, many > will never respect them for more than just an > animal to please or feed mankind.
I agree with this, but with some trepidation because cannibalism seems to be a growing phenomenon in the world today. There are far too many places where some form of cannibalism is becoming increasingly accepted.
In these places (North Korea...parts of Africa, especially those under the domination of war lords...parts of Asia) humans are increasingly being considered as an acceptable food source.
I have been extremely troubled by increasing new reports of yet another instance of at least somewhat generalized cannibalism occurring in more and more places--and these are often places that have nothing to do with each other, so it's not someone hearing something and then trying it out in a new area.
There is something else going on, some cultural change that is affecting widely-spaced areas. It hasn't been academically or officially identified yet (to my knowledge), but SOMETHING is going on.
And the result is: more and more human beings are being used--right today--as a food source.
Many people feel that way when they're making too many tough choices because they're living too close to the edge. I have had to find a suitable home for a loved dog, who was a member of my family, when my marriage broke up and I had to move into an apartment. I have vowed to never have to make that choice again. I love animals and see them as innocents in this.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/11/2013 10:55PM by Devoted Exmo.
I love my service dog more than I love myself. She is often times the one thing that keeps me going in this life. I absolutely value her more than many people I know, so this question really seems strange to me.
I guess that a consumerist culture sees everything as disposable - from marriages all the way down to toothpicks. Companion animals are just one more disposable item on the list of 'life enhancements'.
brothernotofjared Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I love my service dog more than I love myself. She > is often times the one thing that keeps me going > in this life. I absolutely value her more than > many people I know, so this question really seems > strange to me. > > I guess that a consumerist culture sees everything > as disposable - from marriages all the way down to > toothpicks. Companion animals are just one more > disposable item on the list of 'life > enhancements'. I was asking because my tbm parents because this how they view our dogs and cat. They view them as disposable. But what happens when we get attached emotionally to them if they are just disposable??!!
Southern idaho inactive Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > brothernotofjared Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > I love my service dog more than I love myself. > She > > is often times the one thing that keeps me > going > > in this life. I absolutely value her more than > > many people I know, so this question really > seems > > strange to me. > > > > I guess that a consumerist culture sees > everything > > as disposable - from marriages all the way down > to > > toothpicks. Companion animals are just one more > > disposable item on the list of 'life > > enhancements'. > I was asking because my tbm parents because this > how they view our dogs and cat. They view them as > disposable. But what happens when we get attached > emotionally to them if they are just > disposable??!!
I know this is true of many people. I think it is because they have a very limited ability to connect to other beings.
Not just pets or other animals (though these are certainly included), but also other PEOPLE are disposable to them. Perhaps, for some people, this includes family members. I read yesterday of a situation where the parents of one girl, right here in the U.S.A., tried to sell her to someone in exchange for money they needed.
For others, although this inability to connect does not include what they consider to be "their" family, this deficiency in their psyches DOES apply to the family down the street, or across town, or in the next county, or in the next state. It's all the same: an inability to connect properly on the deeper levels of love and respect to other living creatures.
I think, at its most basic, it is a lack of empathy.
Where it occurs, there is no appreciation or understanding of the fact that we are ALL connected...and this includes all living things.
This is one that always baffles me. I am sure you love your dog very much and deservedly so, I am not saying that you should not.
But to treat is as "family?" Are you really? That dog was raised from birth to be a service animal. It had no choice in the matter. It was rewarded for behaving like a service animal but not when it didn't. It was manipulated and controlled in order to serve you.
You are, in affect USING that animal. You control it's food, shelter, rewards, etc.. It has little choice but to obey you. Do you raise your kids with the intent of servicing you?
Don't stop loving your dog, just realized the real role it serves.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/12/2013 01:38PM by MJ.
You show an amazing insensitivity and prejudice against people who have relationships with their service dogs. I can assure you it is a two-way relationship between the person and the dog.
My cats ARE family to me. After my first husband and I went our separate ways many years ago, I adopted a couple of shelter kittens who were wonderful companions for the remainder of their lives. I've had cats in my family ever since then.
When I was looking for an apartment after the divorce, my first question was always "Do you allow pets?" If they didn't, that place was crossed off my list.
My cats are probably more spoiled than my children ever were. . .
I think I love dogs and cats because when everyone else judged my shortcomings as I was growing up, they did not. They slept with me, purred at me, played, jumped and ran around with me, and didn't ask for anything much except to be fed. Pets give but don't take, they love unconditionally, they don't judge.
A couple of people have said stupid things like, "You talk to your cats? Really?" I can't imagine having pets and not talking to them.
To make a long story short, I asked some people at a local rescue if they could find a foster or home for my friend's two cats. From the beginning they wanted to find a way so that she could keep them. She had just come out of a very abusive relationship and had to leave another state with her son, her pets, and a few belongings. When she was looking for an apartment the pet deposits were huge. The people at the rescue went to their church (not Mormon) and asked for donations. They raised enough for my friend's pet deposit as well as some gift cards to buy other things. It was truly a great thing to see such kindest shown for a person they did not know. A great experience.
When you get a pet you have to consider worst case scenarios. Keep money put aside for pet deposits and other expenses. If you have issues, try asking a local rescue to see if they can help you in some way. Adopt a pet from a rescue and you may build some goodwill with them. Also, if you have the worst case scenario and have to surrender your pet, they generally require that you surrender the pet back to them. I think part of the reason they helped my friend is because I had adopted two cats from them. Vet bills can be very expensive and there is help out there, but I've never had to worry about it, thank goodness.
Many people give up their pets without putting much effort into finding a way to keep them. They take the easy way out and it frustrates me to no end. Would they do that if they were reponsible for a human being? Doubtful, they'd find a way to work it out. Why can't they do the same for their pet?
My cats are my kids and I am commited to them for life. I feel bad for all the ones without homes. There are many and it's sad how easily some people can dump them.
When I was a child, my dad got rid of our cats. My stepmom wasn't too thrilled with the cats. I think I was the only one in the family with enough empathy to care. I was very, very upset. I don't know why he had to do that. They stayed outside and weren't much of a bother. Back in those days nobody seemed to fix their pets. But he could have done that. He had enough money. It makes me sick to this day to think of it. I loved those cats, and one of them was super special to me. It's a cruel thing to do to a child.
I would do anything for him. I stood behind a dude's van, while on the phone with the cops, after I had just got done screaming at him. His dog attacked mine at the dog park and he was going to pay for it if it was the last thing I did. He was at least a foot taller than me and was trying to intimidate me, but I was holding my bleeding dog and wasn't backing down.
We have always regarded our pets as part of the family. We talk to them assuming they understand the English language. When a cat died (after only about twenty years) we held a funeral and buried him in the back yard. However, we don't talk to rats or snakes for no apparent reason. I may sometimes talk to a spider but only outside. I have even rescued a couple of trees I had pulled from the garden and replanted them.
As baffled as you are about people treating animals as human, so am I. I grew up on a farm and animals were animals, people were people. I will not stay hotels, eat in restaurants or frequent any business that allows people to bring their dogs inside (excluding service animals of course). In southern california it has become nearly impossible to bring your kids to the park without some dumbass letting his dog run up to my kids off a leash.
When my kids, start yelling all night and waking up the neighbors, tearing up my furniture, and eating their own crap I'll reconsider that animals are humens too....oh wait.
I don't understand it either. Animals are living, breathing beings with intelligence and the ability to learn, grow and evolve, just as humans are. Our dog is part of our family as has been every pet I've ever had.
In my mind, caring for her well being is part of having her here in our home, just as caring for my children when they were small and dependent on us was part of the the way things were.
Anyone who isn't willing to make caring for a pet a priority shouldn't have one. They are NOT disposable, they are intelligent beings who deserve to be treated with love and respect.
I think most people agree that we should treat animals, and more specifically pets, humanely. By humanely I mean they should be fed and watered regularly given proper excercise or freedom to excercise and, with pets, medical care if needed. The line thats drawn for some, me Included, is a point past that. I can raise a rabbit and enjoy it and still kill it and eat it. I can have a dog enjoy its company and during its life treat it with respect and humanity. On the other hand I refuse to ever value a pet or animal life more than a human life in the sense of if I had to save one or the other I would always choose the human first. Getting into the philosophical aspect is the fact of what I just said is called speciasim and depending on the philosopher is on par with racism and sexism. I am still trying to better understand my own thinking on this topic as well as the implications. I am beginning Peter Singers book Practical Ethics which discusses this with the view point of speciasim being as morally wrong as racism.
secular Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I think most people agree that we should treat > animals, and more specifically pets, humanely. By > humanely I mean they should be fed and watered > regularly given proper excercise or freedom to > excercise and, with pets, medical care if needed. > The line thats drawn for some, me Included, is a > point past that. I can raise a rabbit and enjoy it > and still kill it and eat it. I can have a dog > enjoy its company and during its life treat it > with respect and humanity. On the other hand I > refuse to ever value a pet or animal life more > than a human life in the sense of if I had to save > one or the other I would always choose the human > first. > Getting into the philosophical aspect is the > fact of what I just said is called speciasim and > depending on the philosopher is on par with racism > and sexism. I am still trying to better understand > my own thinking on this topic as well as the > implications. I am beginning Peter Singers book > Practical Ethics which discusses this with the > view point of speciasim being as morally wrong as > racism.
I don't understand it either, since in my opinion, having a dog or cat is a commitment one makes for the animal's life. In a way, we treat animals better in that we don't let them suffer at the end of their lives as we allow them to die humanely in a vet's office. Even though I've considered pets to be a part of the family, I still wouldn't put a cat or dog above any human family member.
A lot of people don't treat their pets as family because (and this may not be a popular thing to say) they're pets, not family. Sure, you can talk to your dog anytime about any problem and maybe he'll sit there by your side... but he doesn't understand a word you're saying, he's just wondering when the next meal is. Of course, I don't have pets, so I should probably just keep my trap shut.