Your pet doesn’t love you – it’s just trapped by you
I find it easier to explain not having children than my dislike of keeping pets. I love animals, I just don’t feel the need to own the.
Reading about how the Queen treats her Corgis like royalty gave me the same vague sense of confusion that I always get when I hear about the overwhelming love some people have for an animal companion. I don’t get it. I never have. It simply doesn’t compute with me. How can you possibly love a animal with the same fervour as you love a fellow human?
“But they’re part of our family,” pet lovers frequently insist. How? You didn’t give birth to them. You can talk to them but they can’t talk back, and if you imagine for one second that your cat really gives a damn about your feelings then you’re sorely misguided. If cats do consider you at all, it’s probably to think: “What strange creatures these human animals are; many take better care of us than they do their own young.”
Perhaps it’s because I never grew up with pets. My parents believed we humans had no right to own other animals. I agreed with them then, and I still do. When at junior school it was my turn to bring home the class guinea pig for the weekend my father immediately released it into the wild of our garden. Don’t worry – he kept a firm eye on it and guinea was safely returned to school on Monday in its sad little wooden cage. Should it ever have been kept like that? Ditto rabbits and other beasts that should be in the wild. We haven’t tamed them; we’ve entrapped them. Even your pet moggy is a wild animal, as any owner who’s come downstairs in the morning to the entrails of a mouse, vole or bird will attest.
I’ve found it far easier to explain not having children than my dislike of pets. You don’t want children, fine. Quite understand. But pets? How could you not love a small furry animal? But I do love creatures, the great and the small. My problem is always with their owners, and with the word own. For many it’s seems to be about control. You can’t possibly control another human being the way you can an animal, though of course many try. Call a dog and it comes to you. Lovely. The slobbery greeting you get from a dog when you get back home gives a huge buzz. Someone loves you! No they don’t. A pet is relieved not to be alone, and probably wants its dinner.
I do wonder if I have something missing. It’s obvious pet lovers have a special bond with each other, noticeable even on social media. Some on Facebook are currently urging people to change their profile pics to that of animals to show they’re against animal cruelty. And only the other day JK Rowling was exchanging tweets with Stephen King about how they’d have finished their books months ago if their dogs could make up their mind which side of the door they wanted to be on. Such shared experiences cut across barriers and it’s hard not to feel a bit envious.
I do care about animals. I loathe zoos and think they should be closed down, save for necessary preservation work. I won’t eat veal or battery-reared chicken, I am against the badger cull and living in a rural area, I believe farm animals should be treated as humanely as possible. I also love cooking for vegetarian friends. I just think a real animal lover wouldn’t dream of thinking they had the right to own one and treat it like a personal possession.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/23/your-pet-doesnt-love-you-animals?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+USA+-+Version+CB+header&utm_term=158544&subid=14230036&CMP=ema_565
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I think the two operative phrases in this article are:
Perhaps it’s because I never grew up with pets. My parents believed we humans had no right to own other animals. I agreed with them then, and I still do.
And
I just think a real animal lover wouldn’t dream of thinking they had the right to own one and treat it like a personal possession.
I was raised with pets and we never thought of ourselves as "owning" them as much as sharing our lives with them. Are my dogs trapped? Owned? I suppose in one sense they are because their only access to the outside is to a large walled off backyard that they can not get out of. However that's much more for their safety then a desire to hold them prisoner. Keeping them safe is part of the responsibility of having a pet in your life. Also when they are sleeping snuggled against me, it' sure doesn't seem like they feel they are owned or trapped.
Several years ago our female Shih-Tzu, Sally, developed Pyometra and the only treatment was surgery or she would die. Yes it was expensive, but she was only 4 and part of the family. If we thought of her as just a trapped possession, then we probably would have just tossed her out and bought another one. This author makes it sound like a human pet relationship is just a one way street and like they are just an object, like a TV or a piece of furniture. I guess some people are not just pet people, but I have to admit I have a very hard time trusting non-pet people. It always seems to me like something is missing inside of them.
Some people may not be pet people, but I find the title of this article to be offensive.
Every dog I've ever had the pleasure of having in our home is smarter than nearly every human I have ever met, including this gal.
And here is where she shows she really has no concept of a human/pet relationship:
The slobbery greeting you get from a dog when you get back home gives a huge buzz. Someone loves you! No they don’t. A pet is relieved not to be alone, and probably wants its dinner.
Well, no! We have three Shih-Tzu mixes so they are not just happy to see you because they are lonely because they play with each other. Also we "free feed", which means their food dish is always full of good quality kibble. So that shoots down both of her ideas. And when Molly (our 3 year old) jumps on the couch and gives me kisses (all over the face) for no apparent reason at all or pushes herself as tightly against me as she can when going to sleep (and no not just on chilly nights), how could that be anything but her loving me?
We, humans, have a particular responsibility to dogs and cats. They are what we have made them to be in so many ways. I believe our pets are a chance to learn to reconnect with the natural world.
My sister has 6 cats, 3 indoor and 3 feral outdoor. When she moved about a mile away, she tried to get all three feral cats, but she couldn't get one. So she moved and went looking for him everyday. 6 months later, he turned up at her new house. He was so happy to see her, he jumped into her arms and sat there for about a half hour purring. That's love from an animal who can chose not to be with her.
I have always felt leery of people who don't love animals and children. The writer of this is no exception.
Most animals that people keep as pets want to be with human beings. They are domesticated animals and have been bred as such for a long long time.
The article is a waste of time.
I do wonder if I have something missing.
Clearly. She's another boring, self-involved blogger. It's all about her and it's boring.
Sounds to me like someone who might secretly want a pet. She sure needs one!
My pet doesn't love me ... but I don't love him either and I make sure he knows it ! We're even ...
The women is probably a commie. She's never heard the term ''man's best friend''...
No one ''owns'' their pets. They own us and I love it.
" The bond a man and his best friend shared was put on full display in Houston when a loyal dog waited patiently for weeks for his owner to come home after he was killed while working at a convenience store."
He didn't just want to be fed, he wanted his owner.
The author is a sad and lonely twit.
You can talk to them but they can’t talk back
Of course our pets talk to us. They may not speak our language but they do tell us what they want and what they need through the own voices and body language.
other beasts that should be in the wild. We haven’t tamed them; we’ve entrapped them.
I can’t speak for others but I let my cat outside whenever he wishes to go and he’s not on a leash or prevented from roaming around where he wants to roam. He chooses to return home so that tells me this is where he wants to be.
I’m not a fan of someone giving an opinion when they don’t have a complete perspective or the experience to do so. Her views seem very immature but I do commend her for wanting animals to be free.
It’s probably a good idea that she has neither children nor pets. She seems emotionally disconnected.
I'd say she is emotionally disconnected! You hit that nail right smack dab on the head!
Just because this woman doesn't "get" the bond between people and their pets doesn't mean there isn't one. She doesn't understand, because she has never had a pet, or been dependent on them for love and companionship. This whole blog thing does nothing but show me what is missing in her life as a human being. She is cold and unfeeling-- a distinct lack of empathy for others-- and judgmental, to boot. Stay away from her! Who needs that kind of negativity in their life?
To me, she needs to be ill and housebound for awhile, dependent only on a dog or cat for company, for however long it takes for her to "get" it. Then, tell me that our animals don't love us!
Piffle!
My dogs can't tell me in human words that they love me, but it is plain to see in their eyes.
They tell you in countless ways that they love you! They use body language, and deeds, rather than words!
AWE.........