The Truth About Pets
Published March 02, 2006
I can't count the number of times I've heard someone say, usually a man, gee it hardly seems fair to fix them before they get a chance to have any fun. Hey, guess what, animals only have sex to procreate; they don't have sex for fun. Unlike us, the only time they have sex is if the female is fertile, in heat, as it's known.
They are not going to miss it like you or I would. Unless you're planning on breeding a pure bred strain of an animal, involving registering with a society and getting a breeding licence, there is no reason to even let your animal come into heat once. They don't need the aggravation and neither do you.
Anyway, there are so many unwanted dogs and cats in the world right now that inhumane societies are putting down increasingly higher numbers of animals on a regular basis. The last thing needed is to have cats and dogs breeding because people think their pets get horny.
"Oh they're so much happier outside than in," is the excuse so many people have for leaving their animals outside in all hours and weather. Perhaps if a it lives in the country where it doesn't run the risk of being run down every time it sets a paw out the door you could let it wander. But in the city that's insane.
There's also the matter of people leaving their animals out in all kinds of weather. What kind of person let's a cat stay out in the middle of February when it's below freezing outside. Their paws freeze up and they literally can no longer stand still because they can't put their feet down.
Just because they have fur does not mean they can survive when the temperature dips below freezing. Haven't you noticed that when it's cold out what your cats and dogs do? They climb onto radiators, curl up in front of fireplaces, or find somewhere as warm as possible to be. Doesn't that tell you something?
Then there are the people who think they're being kind to their pet by prolonging its life when they are ill. In the past five years, my wife and I have had to make the decision to have a pet put down because of illness three separate times. In one case it was pretty straight forward, but the other two were more difficult, because there might have been a chance at some sort of recovery.
Richard Marcus is a long-haired Canadian iconoclast who writes reviews and opines on the world as he sees it at Leap In The Dark and Epic India Magazine.
- The Truth About Pets
- Published: March 02, 2006
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Culture
- Filed Under: Culture: Family and Relationships, Culture: Home and Garden, Culture: Society
- Writer: Richard Marcus
- Richard Marcus's BC Writer page
- Richard Marcus's personal site
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Comments on this articleComments
Nancy, sounds like you are a creepy cat lady.
I agree with everything in the article, you should be stating the obvious, but sadly you are not. As far as putting your pet down, I wish people would put sick Grandmas down as well.
Here, here! The Wife to Whom I am Married and her sister volunteer weekly at a no-kill cat shelter here in our area. Take care of your pets, people, and get them fixed.
Good Job! Animals are not disposable items put here for our pleasure to be thrown out like yesterdays trash when they do not or can not meet our expectations. What a different world we would have if people would just understand that domesticated animals are "domesticated" and wild animals are "wild" animals and all depend on us humans for their untimate survival, HELLO!. Why is this so difficult to understand? Keep spreading the word.
So true. Animals are not trash to be tossed out when you are done with them. It just amazes me how people can do that. When I get a dog or cat, it is here until he/she passes on. They live inside with all the comforts that I give myself. We domesicated them. So we should be responsible for them. Spay and Neuter.
Great post! A lot of times, I see people getting animals(usually dogs) b/c it feeds their ego to be able to control and lord over another creature & keep it in its place. It feeds their ego to be 'above' the animal.
The whole not neutering/spaying thing is just plain ignorant & lazy.
Also, I am so tired of looking in the paper and seeing ads for puppies- usually its 'Pit Bull Pups' or whatever particular breed is IN right now- currently its also Chihuahua's b/c of damn Paris Hilton. When did dogs become accessories? What the heck?!
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Everything you said, and then some! My dad always told me when I adopt a pet, it's just that: adoption, just like a child, and the responsibilities are just as binding: I'm bound to provide them with good food, water, shelter, care, and all the medical care I can possibly manage, not to mention affection. If I'm not willing to go the whole 9 yards, then I don't have a pet. And I sure as hell don't just pitch it out or give it to the local shelter when I get tired of it or have problems.
I have 5 cats - all rescues. If push comes to shove, they eat & I don't, because I know why I'm hungry, but they don't, and that's the way it should be. Anyone not prepared to do the same, shouldn't have a pet.
Very small comfort, but at least there's a move in some states and counties to make animal abuse a crime, and to actually prosecute. I suppose that's an improvement over nothing at all, but there's still a long way to go to prevent irresponsible, stupid, or twisted people from inflicting themselves on innocent animals.
Thanks for an excellent post. This is a subject that needs to be addressed more often.