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

[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.