To any pet owners...

[Sylvanfan]

I have no idea how this thread ever got to the point of comparing how someone loves a pet vis a how someone loves a child.

In a way pets are closer to like say your parents, according to the laws of nature and probability when you get a pet you expect to out live it and most likely will have to deal with the time when it passes on. Similar to someone and their parents, you dread the day, but for the most part you have it in the back of your mind that it's probably going to happen one day and you'll have to deal with it. With Children it's different because you expect them to outlive you. In fact I think any parents worst fear is them outliving their children. Only a selfish jerk would want to outlive his own offspring. I've experienced the loss of both a pet and a parent and I can't say I like either one. Although as people we do have the choice to go get another pet, we can't go out and get another parent.

Still the person who hit the dog committed a rather dispicable act no matter how you look at it. But at the end of the day if they had fessed up to the act right away it wouldn't be a terrible ordeal. Hitting the dog was not a criminal act, and there wouldn't be any legal charges. But leaving the scene and not at least reporting it somewhere was cowardly, and I do believe the guilty party should be made ashamed for that moreso than the actual act of hitting the dog.

[4X4]

I think that the ones that are in sheer disbelief that anyone could love a pet so much never really had a pet.
I've had dogs. Then I had Moxie. Those of you that think that a pet is 'replaceable' are dead wrong. Imitated but never duplicated. It's like saying 'you can always have another kid'.

It may sound strange, but if you're lucky, you may one day have a dog that practically reads your mind, and you, hers. Not just another mutt that fetches a ball. I'm telling you that there are animals out there that are so perceptive, it'll freak you out at first, then you'll love the bugger like a member of family. And the loss can be really, really tough.

For the record, I'm related to people that I love less than I love my dog. Am I a monster?

[FireFly]

Originally Posted by 4X4

For the record, I'm related to people that I love less than I love my dog. Am I a monster?

No, you're a softie. Moxie is a cute dog and you're lucky to have her. But you knew that.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Alright.

But most people I know who lose pets mourn, then in a few weeks, they go out and get a new one, and after a few months, they have pretty much forgotten about their old one. .

They do?

Sorry man I don't think that's true at all. Sure we get over the loss of a pet with time, but I don't think its simply a matter of replacing it. Nor do we forget about the old one. I think if you talked to most people they would agree.

[YziesGirl]

That takes "gut wrenching" to a whole new level.

[YziesGirl]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

They do?

Sorry man I don't think that's true at all. Sure we get over the loss of a pet with time, but I don't think its simply a matter of replacing it. Nor do we forget about the old one. I think if you talked to most people they would agree.

Well said! In my "solo adult life", I am fortunate to STILL have Rusty the Wonder Cat (he'll turn 14 on April 10 - but is still like a spring chick...errr tabby).

I know that one day, he won't be with me anymore but I will NEVER forget him or the trials and tribulations we've been through together!

While it is true that I will go out and adopt two new kittens (Yzie and LeMew), they will NEVER EVER replace the bond that Rusty-Man and I share.

~sniffles~

[FlamesAddiction]

I meant "forget" in a relative way. We never truely forget anything like that. I still remember losing toys when I was a child.

What I meant was that people get over it easier and faster than they would getting over the death of a child or other family member. I can't actually believe we are comparing it.

How many marriages break-up after the death of a pet compared to those after the death of a child? (I think the stat is over 50% for the latter..) Obviously one is more tramatizing than the other, at least amongst most of the population.

When a child dies, people think of how sad it is that the person will never know what it is like to fall in love, graduate, get married, have a family, etc... When a pet dies, what experiences do we feel the pet was cheated from? Leg humping, yard poohing, shaking legs... Come on, it's silly to even compare them. The feelings of sadness are more out of selfish reasons than actual empathy.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

When a pet dies, what experiences do we feel the pet was cheated from? Leg humping, yard poohing, shaking legs...

Dude, you've missed out. Not all pets are created equal.

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

I meant "forget" in a relative way. We never truely forget anything like that. I still remember losing toys when I was a child.

What I meant was that people get over it easier and faster than they would getting over the death of a child or other family member. I can't actually believe we are comparing it.

How many marriages break-up after the death of a pet compared to those after the death of a child? (I think the stat is over 50% for the latter..) Obviously one is more tramatizing than the other, at least amongst most of the population.

When a child dies, people think of how sad it is that the person will never know what it is like to fall in love, graduate, get married, have a family, etc... When a pet dies, what experiences do we feel the pet was cheated from? Leg humping, yard poohing, shaking legs... Come on, it's silly to even compare them. The feelings of sadness are more out of selfish reasons than actual empathy.

Seriously no one is saying they are equal. Drop it already. Stop crapping on people that care a lot for their pets. Just because you don't, doesn't mean everyone else doesn't. No one in this thread has said that people and animals are equal or that losing a pet is worse than losing a person. You are defending yourself on some non existent argument.

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by Burninator

Seriously no one is saying they are equal. Drop it already.

Actually someone did and it started this whole discussion:

Yes it may be easier to physically easier to replace a pet than a child but the emotional effect on people can be just as devistating.

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

Actually someone did and it started this whole discussion:

Yes it may be easier to physically easier to replace a pet than a child but the emotional effect on people can be just as devistating.

I never saw that. But Flamesaddiction was getting a little carried away. The quote is not implying that children and animals are on the same level, or that one is more important than the other. Now, I wouldn't have said that losing an animal is similar to losing a child but some of the people's tone in this thread is insulting to people who actually care about their pets. Such as this:

When a pet dies, what experiences do we feel the pet was cheated from? Leg humping, yard poohing, shaking legs... Come on, it's silly to even compare them. The feelings of sadness are more out of selfish reasons than actual empathy.

[Cowperson]

A previous debate on this . . . . "The Moral Philosophy Of Favouring Pets Over Humans."

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthr...highlight=pets

Within the last year, there was also a large article in, I think, the Globe & Mail on kids in their 20's and 30's complaining that their parents, now in their 40's, 50's and 60's often appeared to love or direct more attention to their pets than they ever did to their children when they were all younger . . . . sorry, can't find that link.

My pop certainly grieved far more over the loss of his dog than he ever did over the loss of his mother and father.

The peculiarity of pet ownership is that, unlike children, you are likely to pre-decease them . . . . . which can engender a great sense of loss, particularly since you are likely the one who determines the day they die.

Regarding the letter to the editor that started this thread, it looked to me like the author was angry and sad and looking for some form of revenge, looking to strike out at the individual responsible.

Cowperson

[HelloHockeyFans]

nm

[OilersBaby]

my old yellow lab died last year due to old age/cancer and i was devestated. i thought of him like my child. i didn't run out and get a new doggy in a few weeks as some of you suggested. i waited half a year and got a dog with a totally different personality than my lab (got a young pup..a jack russell terrier) who is different than the old mellow, senior dog that my lab was. the reason for that..i didn't want to feel like i replaced my old guy. and maybe im crazy, but i talk to my new dog about his older cousin who went to rainbow bridge.

[Devils'Advocate]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

I have no idea how this thread ever got to the point of comparing how someone loves a pet vis a how someone loves a child.

Really? You should have seen my thread about pet health insurance.

Where I grew up we were out in the country. Very little traffic. We let our dogs run free. One dog was too stupid to realize that she had boundaries, so we had to keep her caged, but the others learned their territory and didn't stray. Until one night when our Westie terrier got spooked by a lightning strike and she ran off. My mother went out looking for her and came back all panicked because she couldn't find her anywhere. About a half hour later the neighbor came by with the body of our terrier - she had fallen into their pool and drowned. So we learned our lesson. LEASHES ARE NOT OPTIONAL!!! Just because you've taught your dog to stay in the yard doesn't mean that a squirrel, rabbit, mouse, or even as was our case, a loud noise can make the dog forget all they have learned and revert to natural instincts.

BTW - you can't automatically blame the dog owner. That beagle that we had that couldn't get the concept of "stay in our yard? We had to put her in a cage because she was a Houdini at finding a way off of her tether. During the day we'd tie her to her dog house and she had full run of the yard, but apparently that wasn't sufficient. We started with a nylon tether, and she chewed right through that. Same with the leather leash. We tried a chain, screwed into the wooden doghouse but she pulled the screw right out of the wood. We triple secured the chain to the doghouse and she walked around a large rock and pulled so the chain was rubbing against the rock and gave way. Only a full cage worked at keeping this dog from running off. So I don't automatically blame the owner; some animals are just too smart for their own good.

[Phaneufthebeast]

Originally Posted by SpitFire40

I can't read stuff like that, Pets to me are a soft spot.

i know, i dont know how anyone could hurt such an innocent animal