Monday, January 16, 2012

anthropomorphism is breaking my heart!

please adopt me so you can later surrender me to a shelter who gives me a 'good death'


i had an epiphany the other day. as i was going through thousands of pages of doggies who need homes (i want another housemate!), i was feeling a deep dark sadness in my heart for all of the unfortunate circumstances these furry beings are in. in an all-of-the-sudden matter, my heart stopped aching. i finally realized it was the personification of the animals that gave me the deepest of sorrows. you see, i am a pescetarian. some years i am more serious about it than others, but for the most part i abstain from eating the flesh of land animals because George Orwell and Peter Singer made rather compelling arguments about the realities of animal farms. i have long believed that all beings are equal and it is unfortunate most first world societies overconsume flesh. but, i could act on my feelings and control my diet, aiding in the cessation of guilt i felt for the mass slaughtering of animals. a similar guilt has been plaguing me, and that is that so many domesticated animals are being wasted because "i am moving and our new lease agreement says explicitly 'no dogs/cats." first of all, let me say fuck you to all people who make choices and do not include that sweet little pitbull they bought from a breeder. fuck you on so many levels, assholes.  i know the circumstances actually exist, and i would feed my children over my dog any day, but not in the vast numbers that you see in kill-shelters. shelters are not designed for you to give up your chocolate lab because it eats your couches- fucking train the mutt! my rescued kitties have the adorable habit of peeing on my brand spanking new carpet! kittie-lady is currently sleeping on my bed, because i am a good person who understands the responsibility i took on when i rescued her (also i am a sucker). she's gonna have to kill herself to be gone out of my life.
i have gone off subject. back to it.

i had a realization that i have bought into anthropomorphism in pets! don't get me wrong, i realize it is sort of a human tendency to understand our surroundings while wearing our human lenses! but my heart doesn't have to be broken for every dog or cat that gets left behind. i am not sad about the deer i caught a glimpse of in the distance, yesterday. i will say though that some new legislation should be written. i have a couple ideas for laws that could effectively decrease the over population of domesticated animals. a short list:

-official state issued breeder's licenses
-mandatory chipping, with breeder info (i'm talking SS#)
     -fines for breeder when dog is found in wild, or surrendered to a shelter
     -surrendering fees for owner, unless appropriate paperwork is filed ensuring lack of funds
-perhaps animal ownership licensing (inexpensive, but a step forward in educating)
-mandatory sterilizations, enforced, regulated
(wow, i am actually thinking about how to let the government intervene! i guess i am not a libertarian and i am approaching 30!)

i am going to do my part and adopt a pooch. i am also never going to buy a dog from any sort of breeder (they are generally hideous people!). i want to donate my time and funds to educating people on the realities of pet ownership.

2 comments:

  1. Found you on 20SB and loved this post so I thought I would leave you a comment.

    I'm a pet owner myself and would live on the street, or in my 26' travel trailer, before I would move somewhere that didn't allow my beautiful doggies. It irritates me when I see ads on Craigslist, or elsewhere, saying their pet needs a home because their new apartment won't allow it. THEN DON'T MOVE THERE!! I, however, have a small beef with a few of the "intrusions" you've proposed at the end of the post.

    The mandatory chipping, and the breeders license, I'm all for, I can't lie. Great ideas. The fines for breeders ... I can't say how I feel about that and I can't explain why I don't know how I feel.

    A license to own an animal? I'm not sure that's going to do anything. Anyone who wants to own a pet but doesn't want one more piece of paperwork tying him/her to some form of government isn't going to sign therefore they aren't going to adopt. That one, to me, makes the least amount of sense.

    I am all for getting your pets sterilized. Both my male and female were taken straight in after we got them but I don't believe it's a choice that someone else should make for you. Trust me, I still understand about over population but for someone else to control your animal without having invested in them, financially or emotionally, is not OK with me.

    Fantastic post, especially the "let me say fuck you to all people who make choices and do not include that sweet little pitbull they bought from a breeder. fuck you on so many levels, assholes." I own a Pit Bull so that statement stood out to me the most.

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    1. Alicia- thank you for your feed back and thank you for being a responsible doggie mommy. i will put some thought into your reasoning!!! i appreciate you stopping by!

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