Pets

[AcrobatMan]

Is there anyone else here who doesnot like Pets.. i recently saw
someone carrying her own child on a trolley and a dog in her arms.. I was disgusted..................... And some of the things people do with pets..I find very .. Not that I would try to harm any animal or I have any objection in people showing love in whatever form they want to.. I think there are many starving people in this world..then why dog should a get good food..why cat should be loved when there are numerous human orphans all around the world

 

[RavenStar]

My family got my dog from a pound. She had been previously abused so we took her. I got my cat for my 4th bday. I like my animals. I'm thinking of getting an iguana.

 

[Bonochick]

I have 4 cats, 2 dogs, a fish, a newt, and a mouse. I adore all of my pets...they are wonderful companions. I've had my one cat since I was 8 years old...I'm 20 now, and she is still one of my sweetest friends in the world.

 

[FallingStar]

It isn't that people are always that crazy with their pets to carry them around. I love my pets since they are almost family members and my dog is sort of a child already since I got him when I was really small. What speaks against having pets and spending money on projects in the Third World for example? Some people do both.
So, I'm cleary for pets.

 

[FizzingWhizzbees]

I think there are many starving people in this world..then why dog should a get good food..why cat should be loved when there are numerous human orphans all around the world

I think I can see where you're coming from with that argument...it's just that the reason for people starving all around the world isn't that some people choose to keep pets. It's not that people choose to love a cat instead of adopting a child, or that people choose to keep a dog instead of donating money to provide food for those who don't have enough food.

Personally I have two cats and a dog and I love them all to pieces.

 

[Bonochick]

Ugh...nevermind, I'm rambling...

 

[FallingStar]

Re: Re: Pets

I think I can see where you're coming from with that argument...it's just that the reason for people starving all around the world isn't that some people choose to keep pets. It's not that people choose to love a cat instead of adopting a child, or that people choose to keep a dog instead of donating money to provide food for those who don't have enough food.

That's what I wanted to express, but this thought somehow got lost on the way between thinking and typing.

 

[Sicy]

I love animals

I dont see how many people could hate pets.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

at the very least, owning pets has been proven to extend peoples' lives.

 

[Bonochick]

I've got one cat laying on my feet, another on my lap, and another rubbing against my right hand...which makes it hard when I'm using the mouse because he keeps making me click it. I love my kitties.

 

[FallingStar]

I've got one cat laying on my feet, another on my lap, and another rubbing against my right hand...which makes it hard when I'm using the mouse because he keeps making me click it. I love my kitties.

And where is your fourth cat right now?

 

[Not George Lucas]

I hate humans. I find them to be utterly repellant, for the most part. Animals, on the other hand, tend to be more innocent and pure.

 

[Laura M]

Pets are adorable

I think its better people are loving pet owners than leaving poor pets to be abused

I want a dog but my mum thinks it would be cruel to leave him alone all day- I see her point..but some animals are adorable but then again some animals can get nasty and violent which scares me

 

[adamswildhoney]

I have two dogs and i love them but treat them as dogs. I dont go out buying things all the time for my dogs like some people do. I think it funny when I a dog in a sweater or when a famous person buys a 5m doggie collar for their dog that just makes me laugh.

 

[whiteflag]

Re: Re: Pets

I think I can see where you're coming from with that argument...it's just that the reason for people starving all around the world isn't that some people choose to keep pets. It's not that people choose to love a cat instead of adopting a child, or that people choose to keep a dog instead of donating money to provide food for those who don't have enough food.

I am with you there.

People who care more for their pets than they do for suffering people would be selfish regardless of whether they had pets or not. Pets just happen to be the particular poison of some selfish people. It could be cars or clothes or whatever, they would atill spend their money on that instead of on the poor.

I think that it doesnt matter if its love for pets or love for people, because love is excessive by nature. The more of it there is the better. Heck, there are probably people in this world who would never know love or be able to show it if they didnt have a pet. Is that such a bad thing?

As for me personally, I adore animals. I have two cats right now and they are my princesses. But i do draw the line with them somewhere. They are animals afer all. I go as cheap as possible wherever possible. I don't believe in paying for expensive, unnecessary options and I can concieve of situations where they would come last on my list of priorities. I just hope to God that it never comes to that.

So I guess what I am trying to say is that I agree with both sides here to some degree.

 

[Bonochick]

And where is your fourth cat right now?

Hey now...*lol*

 

[missmacphisto]

I hate humans. I find them to be utterly repellant, for the most part. Animals, on the other hand, tend to be more innocent and pure.

Exactly.
Although the vast majority of animal lovers ALSO love people. GOOD people, that is...

 

[The Wanderer]

this thread seems quite silly, pets/animals have been part of civilization since the beginning of recorded history

they bring companionship and comfort to millions of people worldwide, yes it's unfortunate their are orphans in the world, but just because someone can take care of a pet doesn't mean they could substitute another human being in that pet's place

 

[Saracene]

I looooove my kitty, Cats in general make me melt.

I don't really buy it though when some people say that animals are more noble or "better" than humans; thery're just less complex creatures, that's all. Being good is about making moral choices, and I don't believe that animals do that.

 

[CannibalisticArtist]

animals, humans, what's the difference?

 

[AcrobatMan]

Ok Acrobat is back again..Heard a lot of praises of animals ..Howmany of you animal (dog/cat/whatever) lovers dont actually eat some another animal as your food at some point or another... Think over that .... And if you do eat meat, how do you love animals.. I think I am probably making no sense now ...

 

[FizzingWhizzbees]

Ok Acrobat is back again..Heard a lot of praises of animals ..Howmany of you animal (dog/cat/whatever) lovers dont actually eat some another animal as your food at some point or another... Think over that .... And if you do eat meat, how do you love animals.. I think I am probably making no sense now ...

You're making plenty of sense
I'm vegetarian so I can't really answer the question, but I would guess people who keep pets but still eat meat would rationalise it by saying that they know their pets individually, but they didn't know the animals they eat, they don't have to watch them while they're alive, or see them being slaughtered, so it doesn't feel wrong to eat them.

 

[Saracene]

<shrug> I guess when I see a steak on my plate it just doesn't make me think of an actual living animal. It's just a piece of meat. Even the whole smoked chicken doesn't make me think of live chickens with feathers and all. Even if I saw the same animal while it was alive, it just feels like a totally separate object, with no association to the living thing, even though I can make the link intellectually.

And it's a question of cultural conditioning, of course, with people being brought up to think of some animals as only pets and others as food. In some cultures it's perfectly normal to eat dogs, while in others most people would probably have a lot of emotional problems with this idea.

 

[Laura M]

Its a man eat man world

Humans eat meat as part of a balanced diet, animals eat other animals for their diet. It's just nature- I dont see the problem really except I think the way we kill the animals isn't humane from time to time if we cause them pain- I dont agree with hurting an animal!

 

[Rono]

They shoulld kill all cats without a neckless. All those cats that run wild are a real danger to the native fauna. Esp. in Australia.

Maybe castration of male cats would help dissolve the problem,...

 

[Basstrap]

ACROBATMAN:

Ok Acrobat is back again..Heard a lot of praises of animals ..Howmany of you animal (dog/cat/whatever) lovers dont actually eat some another animal as your food at some point or another... Think over that .... And if you do eat meat, how do you love animals.. I think I am probably making no sense now ...

This is ridiculous

I grew up in small town newfoundland where it is tradition to "live off the land". And I have hunted in the past. But at the same time my father taught me a love and respect for nature and I love it like its my home.

Nothing makes me more at peace then going in the woods and just relaxing, watching squirrels scurry about, and birds chirp, and fish jump. I LOVE it all and I have a termendous respect for it.

I also have 2 dogs back home and I love them to death(figuratively speaking). They are always happy to see me, they are loyal and loving and they give me peace and comfort when I'm having shitty days. My dogs are my friends.

And I'll have to fuck off implying my whole family and my grandfathers and their fathers somehow don't love nature and animals just because they've hunted.
I have more love for animals and nature then most people I've met who have never killed an animal for food. Its nature....animals kill animals.

Look at indians. I don't think you have as dense a native indian population as us here in Canada but I think most people realise that they almost worship nature...they hold it in very high regard and they love all animals. Yet they've always speared animals as well.

Never have I heard such an ignorant implication as the one you just made.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

Ok Acrobat is back again..Heard a lot of praises of animals ..Howmany of you animal (dog/cat/whatever) lovers dont actually eat some another animal as your food at some point or another... Think over that .... And if you do eat meat, how do you love animals.. I think I am probably making no sense now ...

this makes sense, but i don't think it's a very good argument. to keep the circle of life going, animals (including humans) have to die every day. it sucks, yes, but if animals didn't die for whatever reason, the world would be overpopulated. however, i do NOT agree with killing animals for sport. not to get off topic in a debate about hunting, i don't like people who kill a deer for a trophy. i do however, think it's great that someone out in the boonies kills a deer to feed his family. regardless of whether or not the people could afford to buy meat from a store (like the famous pro-hunting people) isn't really fair.

anyway, to get back on topic, i don't think vegetarianism and pet loving are really that similar. vegetarians are that way because they either think it's a better way of living, or because their doctor made them do it for health reasons. however, an animal lover gets a dog or cat or whatever because they want the company, are bored and need something to do (like care after an animal), or love animals. at the very least, look at it this way: all pets eat meat. when i feed my cats every morning, their cat food and cat treats has meat in it. when my grandmother feeds her dog, he gets leftovers from dinner (it's sweet, when we go out to eat everyone has to leave some of their food for him), dog bones, and dog food, all containing meat. the only animals off the top of my head, petwise, who don't eat meat are birds and rodents (mice, rats, hamsters, gerbils, etc.). i could be wrong with that, but for the most part, all animals eat meat. i don't see how eating meat means you don't like animals.

 

[whiteflag]

I am a vegetarian and an pet lover, BUT I don't think that it's morally wrong to kill or eat animals for food as long as its done humanely. What I do think is morally wrong is the mass farming and harvesting of meat to provide for today's massive world population. I believe that switching to meatless or much less meat-filled diet is the best way to efficiently manage our resources while at the same time providing more food for more people.

Our habitual consumption of meat today is devastating our planet.

I also think that killing animals for sport when other sources of food are avaliable is also wrong. But someone taking the occasional one to provide for the family is not.

The main difference that I see between us and those hunters from the past is population. Our numbers make it impossible to continue the ancient practice of eating meat for much longer because we can't maintain the balance with the land that our forefathers had due to their much smaller numbers.

Does that seem sensible?

 

[Rono]

 

[Saracene]

The main difference that I see between us and those hunters from the past is population. Our numbers make it impossible to continue the ancient practice of eating meat for much longer because we can't maintain the balance with the land that our forefathers had due to their much smaller numbers.

Actually, in America several equine species were wiped out completely by the natives some 13,000 years before the Spanish came and brought the horses with them. So much for the balance with the land.

And I've read in the recent TIME article that more animals are killed during the harvesting of fields than there are animals killed for their meat.