Should we have pets?

parrots en brochette or stuffed guinea pigs- bon appetit lol

 

Pets are awesome.

 

first, i know farmers [this is largely an ag community] and none of them want anyone to "help the animals" in their care

second, i have repeatedly talked about taking in stray animals, abandoned animals, feral animals

this is not a commercial transaction, it is an act of mercy

do you even bother to read the posts you are rebutting?

 

strange sort of farmers you have there, here we have many old farmers who are always thankful if you do something, be it just going outside with the cows for a walk

of course you have to help them, like I wrote above I raised some special young birds that I found in a situation where they were not able to survive.

 

small sort of farmers you have there, ranches here [eastern montana] are generally a bit too big to go out on a walk with a cow . . . if you could find a ranch with just one cow

oh, and those cows aren't pets - they are an investment, they are how a rancher/farmer makes their living

[do you want them bothering you at your job?]

well, yeah, those rescued animals are pets too

you want to complain about pet stores, fine - you'll get no argument from me

but pet stores are one thing, and pets - animal companions, roommates, whatever - are entirely another

so, again, what's your beef with a tail-wagging dog or a purring cat living with its human friends?

 

Farms have working animals, dogs and cats are earning their keep, not quite pets.

I didn't buy my pet, she was free as the person who did get her (from the humane society) moved and couldn't take her.

You assume a lot.

Also, I've never heard of a farmer wanting strangers on their property. That would be like saying people want you to enter their homes and help with the laundry...

 

People are animals, and we tend to live in the ways that we want to...why not let other animals do the same?

Because we are conditioned to believe that we are not animals, that we are BETTER than them.

If I were to meet an animal in the wild and they choose to be my companion that would be pretty cool, but I'm not going to go purchase a life with money. I also wouldn't force them to be dependent on me, they would be able to find their own food. Having a companion isn't really so much of an issue as the stripping of dignity, neutering, forcing them into our mold and fighting against their instincts. As much as people love pets it would totally suck if something bigger than you came along and put you in a cage and sold you :/

 

it's funny how people can develop [or borrow] entire philosophies about a thing that, from reading said philosophy, it becomes quite clear that they have no practical experience in, and thus, no actual knowledge about the subject

 

i have a challenge for those who think animals, even domestic dogs and cats, should only live 'free' and 'in nature'

people are animals; you are an animal

so, you go live 'free' and 'in nature', sleeping naked under a tree, digging for roots, insects, whatever else you can forage or kill

the average domestic dog or cat lives 15-20 years, roughly?

well, the average stray/feral lives a much shorter life, so let's say you only have to live wild for 5-10 years

let us know how you like it

 

Uhh yes, I am training for this right now. I consider humans the stupidest animals on the planet because if the grocery store was taken away we wouldn't know where to find our food and we'd die. I really don't want to be one of these people.

Oh and as far as the "borrow ideas" comment: I came up with what I want to do all on my own and then happened to find reading for it, not the other way around.

I wouldn't say animals belong outside if I didn't believe that humans belong there too.

 

well, whether you're right or wrong, you have to admit that's a fairly extreme position

i'm sure you'll agree that most people, besides yourself, prefer to live indoors

i can only speak for my own pets, a dozen cats, but they seem pretty damn happy to me

and i'm not ready to live outdoors any time soon, even the indians didn't winter here . . .

 

Yeah dude by all means do you, I just believe my way of how I want to do things is the only logical choice. Just know that your way of life isn't sustainable forever.

 

Actually it is since it's an integrated, world wide system involving the production, consumption, and trading of billions of people. The system props itself up. It's like if your house runs on a generator, and it breaks, you're screwed until you build a new generator, which is going to be a problem for most people. If you're connected to the power grid, if one part fails, normally the rest of the grid picks up the slack. If there is actually a blackout, trained professionals are on call ready to go fix it immediately as people on the grid report where blackouts are which makes the search for the problem even quicker.

 

Dogs and cats were bred to be domesticated animals. Birds, on the other hand, have not been domesticated and I think caging a bird is one of the cruelest things you can do to an animal. Birds are meant to be free.

 

So its okay to take one life and force it to suit our needs but not another?

People seriously have a god complex

 

actually, if you'd ever had pets, you would find that it is the human's life that is forced to suit the pets' needs

perhaps less so with dogs than cats

dogs are real suck-ups

cats are dictators

 

really, you think it's logical for 6 billion people to live in the dirt?

 

Yeah there are many people dumb enough to be dominated by their own pets lol in the city I see every time I go there people being dominated by their own dogs

 

have you not also seen "people dumb enough to be dominated by their own" spouses?

all relationships are complicated, sometimes there are dominant and submissive partners, rarely is there an exactly equal balance

when the relationship is cross-species this balance becomes even more difficult to achieve

 

of course I see that

The problem is that most people have difficulties understanding body language already with their own species. When someones body language and words say two different things, its difficult to communicate, especially with animals. Most people are making serious mistakes with their gestures, speed of moving...when approaching an animal. And they dont feel most of what the animal shows them with its eyes and body.
When you meet a cow for the first time, how do you make body contact? With the hand? No! You ever seen 2 cows touching eath other with their hoofs? No. First contact with the cow is your nose against the cows nose, thats "hello" and things will work out ok lol
Its all a thing of balance- some things the animal knows better than you and the animal is aware of, so let him show you, be your prolonged senses. In other things where you know better, like life in human society, you show the animal, all in respect!