animals vs. children.

[2eclipse]

question of the day.

some people claim to love their animals as much as they love their children. some people find this idea offensive - how can an animal mean as much as a child or be as worthy of love? on the other hand, when has human love had anything to do with worth?
what do you think?

Comments

[patchhat.livejournal.com]

how can anyone find love offensive? people aughta live and let love.

life is life. in my opinion, people are just over-thinking animals, and human life is no more or less precious than any animals life.. i'm not saying that i believe in life at all costs... and i'm not "pro-life"... but it's all precious and i don't believe in loving "a lower life form" any less than you would love your own flesh and blood.

a child grows up. teaching love, morals and survival skills is very, very important at the beginning, but eventually the kid grows up and thinks for him/herself. keeping a pet healthy, happy and loved is almost more of a commitment a'cause it never "grows up" to be self sufficient. an animal offers pure love it's entire life and deserves it in return.

i also think the people that say pets don't think or dream are deluded and need to get over themselves. animals are just as thinking and feeling as humans are... they just think and feel differently.

My companion, not my child

[rumpleteazaer.livejournal.com]

I obviously have a bias in this situation. I do not doubt that pets are worthy of love. They are a member of the family, a close companion and provide unconditional love (provided the food dish is full). The Leezard refers to himself as the cat's "Daddy" on a regular basis.

That is the point where I draw my line. Being a parent, whether biologically or through adoption, is a whole next level of commitment, responsibility, joy and heartache. I cannot think of myself as a parent to a little furry animal. I love my cat, take good care of him and such. But in the end, there are things I would do for my child that I would never do for a pet. No matter how dear to me they are.

Re: My companion, not my child

[queenlyzard.livejournal.com]

I second this response, especially the last bit. I think anyone who had to chose between saving the life of their child or their pet would have to pick the child-- or probably any human in general over any animal, no matter how beloved. I'm sure there are exceptions to this, but they must be rare cases.

Humans connect to other humans, especially family members, in a way that I think is unique in the animal kingdom, simply because we can think about our interconnectedness. We can have much bigger effects in each other's lives, and be aware of those effects. It creates a certain bond between us all.

[plsurkity.livejournal.com]

i think that it's likely i will be beaten over the internet by someone for saying this, but...

i think that the love one has for their child is a fierce love, but one more akin to the love one might have for some wonderful thing they have created. of course, as i have no children, this is just what i think. *shrugs* the love of a pet, however, is one that i believe is far greater. the love i have for my babies is one that in some cases was given at once, as with the trusting pug, but sometimes it's one that i've had to earn, and often at great time and personal cost. the trust built between my rats and i was a long road, and we're still getting there. this bonding is, to me, far greater than anything i might get with a child. sure, there are messes to clean and vet bills to pay, but the commitment, i believe, is a far greater one. a child will learn to speak and can speak for itself. an animal has only us to speak for them, though they talk to us every day. we are wholly resposable for the animal, where the child, at least in time, is expected to be responsable for itself.

i think that to love a pet is a love of constant giving, and getting that love in return. to love a child is a wonderful thing, but the giving does stop, and the child is expected to go forth into the world and do great things. the pet, however, holds little expectations in us, nor us in them, yet gives love so willingly. i far prefer the love on an animal to the love of a child, and i do firmly believe that they are our kids. we have five wonderful furry children, and i love them all as if they were indeed my own flesh.

[rumpleteazaer.livejournal.com]

I would have to disagree that the giving to a child stops. Maybe the physical giving of stuff eventually stops. If things go well, it means you give to them things that will be nice touches on an already good life. If they do not go well, you still do all you can to help them as long as they continue to strive to help themselves.

The emotional giving of support, advice, a safe haven to turn to and guidance on the path of life never stops.

The care and attention you have given to your animals are the same as the care and attention that goes into a life-long relationship with a child. You do not get love and trust from a child just because you gave birth to him or her. It is through the work you put into the cultivation of the relationship that determines whether it ends when their butts are out the door or continues to a special kind of friendship down the line.

[crowyhead.livejournal.com]

I don't doubt that some people feel the same power of love for their pets as they might for a child -- the love I've felt for animals has been enormous.

What gives me pause is the idea that there is no difference between the love felt for a pet and the love felt for a child. It's always struck me as sort of unfair to the pet, simply because it seems to suggest a certain amount of anthropomorphizing of the animal. I don't think it's fair to expect an animal to love or behave in the way a human would. I know everyone who claims to love their animals as much as they love (or would love) their child isn't looking at the animal as a child-surrogate, but in general it seems to go along with an attitude that presses the animal into a role they aren't equipped to fill. For example, on animal communities I someitmes see people doing patently dangerous things, like ignoring their pet's innate prey drive, because they have the belief that their rat terrier "knows better" than to attack their pet rat. It's misguided and ends up placing both the pet and the owner in a terrible position if something goes wrong.

[ashoe.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I think it varies by person. I have no doubt that there are people out there who feel as if they love their children and pets equally, or pet owners who feel they love their pets as much as a parent might love their child.

I think it's silly to get offended by what people say they love unless it actively intrudes on your life in some way. I think what people find offensive is the idea that the life of a pet is as valuable as the life of a child. I can see why people find it offensive, and also why people get offended that someone finds it offensive. Whee!

Personally, if I only had time to rescue one creature from a burning building, and there was a choice between a child and a pet, I'd choose the child. I'd choose the child even if it weren't my child and it WAS my pet. I would absolutely consider someone saving a pet, their own or someone else's, over a child, any child, to have made the wrong call.

Pets are great. I love my cats. My cats have affection for me, of some kind. All that said, I think it's arrogant in the extreme to compare the pet relationship to human relationships. The complexities of human relationships are off the charts and far away from those that exist in a human/animal bond, because there can be no true equality between pet and human.

~a

[bitterbert.livejournal.com]

It certainly seems possible for a person to have the same level of love for a pet and a child. Love is a pretty subjective thing.

Personally, I know of no love that is even close to what I feel for my children. It is a deeper-then-bone link that I can physically feel. It is odd, but good.

[keisolo.livejournal.com]

I don't find it offensive, but I know that if I had to choose between the boy and the dog or cats... However, given a circumstance that did not force a choice, I would work to save them all. More, on all points, than a fair number of humans I've known. Not referencing the demons of my life here, either.