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#16 |
Person who doesn't update the user title
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 12,486
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Hey...wait a minute...I think Zorg is on to something here...I think juju is a sociopath!
![]() Seriously though, Juju, why do you think pet ownership is akin to slavery? |
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#17 |
no one of consequence
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 2,839
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Because, they're not given a choice of where they live or what they eat. You're forcing both on them.
Also, I'm viciously allergic to cats, and was also allergic to dogs as a child. I was never allowed to own a pet because of this, so I never learned how to "bond" with a dumb animal. I guess that's why I really don't get it. ![]() Also, there are these people who think their pets can "talk". I really don't understand them, either. Sure, you can get some information from their behavior, but when the dog is barking, why bother pretending that it's really perfectly understandable speech? And what about these people who dress their dogs up in clothes? Weird. Just weird. |
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#18 |
dripping with ignorance
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Grand Forks ND
Posts: 642
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Juju, if you had ever owned a pet I guarantee you that you would see things differently. There are very few things that can beat coming home after a long trip and having your dog waiting for you. I lived on a farm and our dog could have run away if she wanted to but she stayed right there and was always excited when we pulled up.
As for the food thing, I can see your point, though if you didn't feed them they would end up starving, it's not like most domestic breeds of dogs are great hunters. But since you didn't have the opportunit to "bond with a dumb animal" I'll let you get by thinking that owning pets are akin to slavery. ![]()
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After the seventh beer I generally try and stay away from the keyboard, I apologize for what happens when I fail. |
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#19 |
Yeah sez you
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 206
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I'd like to come back as one of my pet ferrets. Sheesh what a cushy life they have!
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#20 |
Abecedarian
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Chile
Posts: 179
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Having a pet it's really good therapy. I used to come home after long work hours, and wanted nothing but go to bed. Now I work the same amount of hours, but taking my dog out and see she running around, <strike>killing little animals</strike> playing with kids and just doing whatever it's the most relaxing thing.
I own a cute Rottweiler, btw ![]() |
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#21 |
Pithy Euphemist
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Canada
Posts: 19
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Depends on the pet.
Personally: xxxx amount of cats.........don't know, don't really care but wouldn't leave one in the gutter to die. 2 sheps.......guard dogs. 1 alpine goat.............pain in the ass...literally.....childs pet though. 3 horses............these I care about and have a connection to. 1 bird...never mind. |
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#22 | ||
Person who doesn't update the user title
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 12,486
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Quote:
Giving a dog good healthy dog food allows them to live to their fullest. It's a lot better than eating leftover scraps that might have already been infested by flies, yet again protecting you the human. Quote:
You didn't watch "Lassie" as a child, did you? Timmy and Lassie went roaming the countryside, having a great old time fishing, exploring, etc. Sometimes, Timmy got caught in bad situations (a foot in a bear trap, sinking in quicksand, etc.), and Lassie would either try to help Timmy on her own, or go for help. Now granted, that's happy feel-good TV, but that sort of thing does occur with human and animal. If a dog helps save your life, or helps you live your life (a seeing-eye dog), can you understand how people might form an attachment with their animals? For some people, pets are like children. They feed them, and love them, and even dress some of them. And you even have a few that take their pets to psychologists. Now, some of those things may sound a bit extreme to many of us, but there's nothing inherently wrong with that. Why don't you head over to the library at that school of yours? A school like Arkansas should have a PsychLit database. Head over there, and put in some search parameters like "pets and well-being." You'll be amazed. If you are allergic to dogs and cats, you should talk to your doctor about a prescription such as Claritin or Allegra. Besides, $20 says your sorry ass STILL hasn't seen the doc about your suspected hypoglycemia. Remember, you ARE listed in the phone book...do we need to call your wife? ![]() |
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#23 |
still says videotape
Join Date: Feb 2001
Posts: 26,813
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Lets see, 2 dogs, 1cat, 17chickens, 2geese, and a fish. I used to be anti-cat until we had a red squirel infestation here. I was shooting, poisoning, mustard gassing until Ray decided to step in. Good Kitty. We're talking cattle/sheep/goats/bees, I'm gonna take Helens comment as one vote against goats.
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If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis |
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#24 |
dripping with ignorance
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Grand Forks ND
Posts: 642
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Griff you seriuosly don't consider your chickens pets do you. And geese are just plain mean.
__________________
After the seventh beer I generally try and stay away from the keyboard, I apologize for what happens when I fail. |
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#25 | ||
no one of consequence
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 2,839
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Quote:
And who says they have to live in the street? There are thousands of species of animals that live in the wild quite successfully. Why aren't you concerned about contracting disease from or getting injured by those other animals? Would I be better off keeping a gimp locked up in the basement? Hey, that's one less feral homeless person out there that might attack me! I realize that animals aren't as smart as humans. So perhaps it's just the natural order of things that we control them. I'm cool with that, really I am. But I still call them like I see them. We control our pets. They're subservient to us. They may enjoy our company and love us, but it's definitely not a partnership of equals. It's one animal dominating another. I realize that pets make a lot of humans happy. I don't doubt that. I'm mostly addressing the happiness and freedom of the pet, though. I'm sure african slaves made a lot of rich white men happy, too. In the case of pets, it all works out, because pets are too stupid to ask for their freedom back. Quote:
Also, just so I don't have to go through and carefully alter my language, i'm just going to state it here: I admit that I could be wrong! This is just the world the way I see it. I'm not saying, "This IS the way it is". Well, okay, maybe I did say that, but I didn't mean it. What I meant was, "It seems to me like it might be this way." Last edited by juju; 11-24-2002 at 03:31 PM. |
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#26 | |
retired
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Toronto, Canada
Posts: 1,930
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Apparently, like Cam, juju doesn't consider chickens to be on the same level as other animals we enslave as pets.
Quote:
Gotta go now ... and make myself a chicken sandwich! Last edited by Nic Name; 11-24-2002 at 03:48 PM. |
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#27 |
no one of consequence
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 2,839
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I never claimed to be an animal lover. :)
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#28 | |
retired
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Toronto, Canada
Posts: 1,930
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Domestication is a darwinian plot
Quote:
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#29 | |
hot
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Jeffersonville, IN (near Louisville)
Posts: 892
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Quote:
Their social order and sense of well-being requires that every pack has a leader. That's just the way it works. They don't mind not being the leader, as long as there is a leader in their pack. In domesticated dogs, that "pack" is their human family, and they look up to their owner as their leader. ![]() This is Aloysius. I never really knew what the expression "follow like a lost puppy" meant until we got him. He never goes anywhere unless my wife or I are there too. He won't even leave the room to go eat unless one of us is goes with him. Does this mean his quality of life is any worse than if that leader were another dog? Let's see, he gets high-quality food three times a day (anyone who thinks pet food is "trash" should go see how much it costs, and what sort of quality control it has to go through). He gets almost constant affection from Elizabeth and me. He gets chew toys to help exercise his teeth, treats when he goes to the bathroom outside, medical care, and plenty of exercise. Seems pretty much like a win-win situation. And as far as it being "slavery".. Al has gotten out from our fence before, but he didn't run away. He just stayed at the house, waiting for us to return. Just like Cam, who lived on a farm where the dog could have run away. How is that slavery? |
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#30 |
Guest
Posts: n/a
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I'm going to agree with juju that having pets is akin to slavery. My cats own my ass. Gotta get their food, change their litter, give them massages... I only wish I had it so good.
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animal, dog |
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