Have Dog Owners Gone Too Far?
I have been pondering the status of man's best friend. I am shocked at the behavior of many pet owners who are willing to sink into debt to fund an expensive operation for their canine "family member."
This article was recently published in the Humanist. I personally think it raises an interesting point or two. I often say that dogs are social parasites that developed behaviors to trick humans into thinking they share our emotions. I wonder if millions of years of evolution of dogs and people in close proximity has this furry parasite perfectly adapted to feed off our highly evolved social needs.
link ... http://thehumanist.com/humanist/09_nov_dec/Pedersen.html
Excerpt below...
There was a time when "Dog is my co-pilot" was merely a fun slap at the "God is my co-pilot" bumper sticker, and it was funny precisely because nobody would ever think to elevate their dog to such a height. Within the past decade, however, pets—primarily dogs—have soared in importance. ("Dog is my co-pilot" is now the slogan of Bark, a magazine of dog culture, and the title of an anthology—published by Bark's editors—billed as essays, short stories, and expert commentaries that explore "every aspect of our life with dogs.") Canines, with their pack instincts and trainability, are by far the most likely pet to be anthropomorphized as a family member, a best friend, or a "fur baby," treated accordingly with gourmet meals, designer apparel, orthopedic beds, expensive therapy, and catered birthday parties. Some people even feel (and in some cases, demonstrate) that their dogs are worth dying for. Others say the animal lovers are going too far.
This article was recently published in the Humanist. I personally think it raises an interesting point or two. I often say that dogs are social parasites that developed behaviors to trick humans into thinking they share our emotions. I wonder if millions of years of evolution of dogs and people in close proximity has this furry parasite perfectly adapted to feed off our highly evolved social needs.
link ... http://thehumanist.com/humanist/09_nov_dec/Pedersen.html
Excerpt below...
There was a time when "Dog is my co-pilot" was merely a fun slap at the "God is my co-pilot" bumper sticker, and it was funny precisely because nobody would ever think to elevate their dog to such a height. Within the past decade, however, pets—primarily dogs—have soared in importance. ("Dog is my co-pilot" is now the slogan of Bark, a magazine of dog culture, and the title of an anthology—published by Bark's editors—billed as essays, short stories, and expert commentaries that explore "every aspect of our life with dogs.") Canines, with their pack instincts and trainability, are by far the most likely pet to be anthropomorphized as a family member, a best friend, or a "fur baby," treated accordingly with gourmet meals, designer apparel, orthopedic beds, expensive therapy, and catered birthday parties. Some people even feel (and in some cases, demonstrate) that their dogs are worth dying for. Others say the animal lovers are going too far.
Tags: anthropomophic, dogs, pets
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Free Thinker on -
@Dallas,
If only we could paint others the way we want . . .
Let's not beat around the bush. When there's a thousand ways to say ANYTHING, intent is not hard to understand. I challenge ANYBODY to show how anything I've written (MY words . . . NOT your spin on them) here is anything but an argument for supporting people first.
You skillfully twist this into a matter of me using myself as a yardstick. What a joke. Look at my homepage. Look at my posts. This is the ONLY time I've ever mentioned this side of my life . . . and only because YOU impugned it to begin with.
I have only one purpose here. It's the purpose I've been arguing. Indulge humanity first, or instead of, your pets.
Whether or not you like that message, I could care less. It's important enough, to me, to take the inevitable flak.
I stood up for a cause: humanity first. You attacked me for it. You can couch your words any way you want but I wasn't born yesterday and will call a spade a spade.
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Permalink Reply by Dallas Gaytheist on -
@ Free Thinker
I don't think I've spinned your words at all. First, I said that my comment was not directed at you, twice now, but you still insist on taking it that way. I never impugned your life, your decisions, or your compassion. I have never attacked you or the issues you find important. What I have done is taken exception to your attack on my acts of compassion for animals which you have categorically dismissed as being misplaced and unworthy. It is you who have attacked me and my actions in rescuing stray dogs and cats, and I fail to see how you don't see that.
I don't dislike your message that it is important to care about humanity. What I dislike is your characterization that compassion for animals is misplaced (which is not the same thing as overindulging or humanizing pets).
I suppose in your world view that if I see a starving stray dog on the streets I should just turn the other way and let him suffer because there is human suffering on the other side of the world?
I am not going to compartmentalize and categorize my compassion or concern into hierarchies of worthiness. And I will not be made to feel less than human by you because I have a concern for animals.
I think that it is also important to point out that although many people in the West do overindulge their pets with various products and services, we cannot deny that by doing so they are creating jobs, spending money, and stimulating the economy, which is precisely what keeps people out of the poverty that you (justifiably) abhor. Many third world countries suffer precisely because they don't have a strong economy (but which is only part of the problem, of course).
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Permalink Reply by Free Thinker on
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Let's see, Dallas,
How about this? Tell me if it sounds familiar.
And this is nothing personal against you Dallas, because I don't know you, but I have found that the vast majority of people who criticize people instead of their ideas or acts, are just people who love to be judgmental, and who never actually help other people themselves. I've never once come across a person more committed to pets than people who has been tolerant of criticism of that commitment. It is usually the self-righteous jerk who just likes to find fault with others. And that's a fact.
I know this post is addressed to you and that the self-righteous jerks I lambasted have the same position as you on this subject but it's nothing personal . . . REALLY.
Give me a break. That's just plain chicken-shit, Dallas.
Back on subject . . .
. . . The phrase, "misappropriation of compassion", is a criticism of priorities specifically tied to putting pet charities above human charities. That's all it is. There's nothing hostile about it. It's ridiculous to claim somebody would judge anybody based on this one thing. Get real, for crying out loud.
Now then, I had 2 people in mind who stood out in my memory when I wrote that. One is a close family member and another was an officemate. Both had written off humanity as ugly and a blight on the planet. But that's not why they stand out. They stand out because they actually bragged (unsolicited) about giving to pet charities INSTEAD of human ones: citing the unworthiness of the human race and the unconditional love of dogs.
Are these bad people? Of course not! I understand how they feel. They both have bad experiences with untrustworthy people. But their bitterness should be directed at those who wronged them . . . not sick and starving children.
I'm not saying these 2 are typical of pet lovers. The charitable among pet lovers might give to both pet and human charities, or one or the other, or none of the above. Any giving is compassionate and laudable. But my experience tells me that a lot of people in privileged countries have lived sheltered lives, insulated from the human misery overseas. They give to charities emotionally, just as we all do. I can't help but believe that, if people knew more about the need, they would apportion more of that giving to alleviate human suffering. That would be a wonderful thing.
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Permalink Reply by John D on -
Free thinker - Sounds like you are talking about misanthropy. I just stumbled on this term the other day. It means hatred of humans.
There are some people who feel that only humans can be "evil". This makes it hard for them to feel compassion for others. They claim that animals are "innocent" and thus deserve pity. We "evil" humans don't deserve pity because we are guilty. An odd morality in my opinion.
I am not saying most pet owners are like this.... but I have met my share and I find it disturbing.
As an aside...Any monkey owners out there? These creatures take 24/7 attention and have been getting more and more popular. My neighbor had a spider monkey and they didn't spend enough time with it. You could hear the poor animal screaming its head off all the way down the street. Monkeys do not make a good pets in my opinion. Too much like having a real kid!
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Permalink Reply by Dallas Gaytheist on
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Monkeys are illegal I believe and can spread a deadly form of hepatitis. You should report them. The monkey belongs at a sanctuary, since it is probably impossible to return it to the wild now.
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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Dallas - this was years ago. I don't know any monkey owner, but have seen them on the TV. Are monkeys illegal everywhere or is it established state by state (or in certain countries)?
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Permalink Reply by Dallas Gaytheist on
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Are monkeys illegal everywhere or is it established state by state (or in certain countries)?
Well, don't quote me on this, but I believe they are illegal in all 50 states. They are considered a wild, non-native species. This kind of wild pet trade can really be detrimental to native species. Boas or pythons that got too big for their owners and were released into the wild are out of control in the Florida everglades, devastating the native wildlife, and San Francisco is overrun with non-native parrots.
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Permalink Reply by Daniel the Apostate on -
Man is the cruelest animal. At tragedies, bullfights, and crucifixions he has so far felt best on earth; and when he invented hell for himself, behold, that was his very heaven.
— Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
The more I see of men, the more I admire dogs.
-Jeanne-Marie Roland
-Of all the animals, man is the only one that is cruel. He is the only one that inflicts pain for the pleasure of doing it.
-Mark Twain
If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man.
-Mark Twain
-He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.
-Immanuel Kant
-To insult someone we call him "bestial." For deliberate cruelty and nature, "human" might be the greater insult.
-Isaac Asimov
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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Daniel - great quotes -
but it sort of proves my point. The idea that dogs are somehow noble is pure B/S. They are just dogs. If they had complex human emotions and had to make choices they would be just like people. Why is it so "evil" that we humans must make choices. An interesting problem with how humans view the ethical world.
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Permalink Reply by Dallas Gaytheist on
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Why is it so "evil" that we humans must make choices.
I don't think it is evil that we must make choices, but that our choices are so often evil in themselves, even when we know better.
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Permalink Reply by Daniel the Apostate on
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John,
Of course we have to make choices. As long as your choices agree with my values, it's not evil, it's good. :-)
(Internet humor is often mistaken. That's a joke)
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Permalink Reply by Free Thinker on
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Hey, John D.,
My brother's name is John D. too. John David, to be exact.
Anyway, when I was 6 or 7, and living in the Panama Canal Zone, my Dad built a huge cage in a tree, then brought home a chimpanzee to put in it. Chimps are NOT native to Panama, though other monkeys are, so don't ask me where he got it. The chimp was completely wild and beyond domestication (at least, by us). He only lasted for a couple of weeks before my Dad got rid of him (I don't know how).
I haven't thought of that chimp for decades! Thanks for the nostalgia trip.
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