Treating animals....like humans

  • Thread starter Thread starter Polluted
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
P

Polluted

Guest
I hate animals at times. Why? How on earth could I hate a puppy you may ask? đŸ€· Because for so many people, animals are literally treated like a human. It’s a sick perverted state of mind and it’s found all too often in our society.

Animals, are not humans, you are not the “proud grandparent” to a new puppy as your bumper sticker may say. Some people actually take this to an extreme, going so far as to have sexual intercourse with their animals and pretending as if they are in a relationship with them. I kid you not there are forums dedicated for people who have sex with their animals. Some of the comments in these forums are shockingly similar to homosexuals validating their own behavior.

My point is, I don’t care how crummy someone feels about humanity. Some people think that’s an excuse to justify this sick twisted notion that animals are no better or worse than a human being.

Where do you guys stand? How attached are you to your own animals. Is it in line with your Catholic faith? Or do you spend an plethora of resources that could be going elsewhere treating your animal like a human? Through your own hurt in life by human beings, have you decided your family poodle is worthy of being treated like a child because “He would never hurt you”.
 
Polluted,

Sorry you feel that way. I have always loved animals (most types anyway), they are also God’s creation. Some Churches – yes Catholic – have a blessing of the animals. Some people of course perverse our relationships with animals – that is not the fault of the animal, it is the fault of the human. Blaming the animal for what a person does to it, is the same as blaming the victim of a crime for allowing it to happen.

I have adopted dogs in the past, and have one now. All of them have been very loving and loyal. No matter how bad of a day I had – they were always there to cheer me up. They do now ask for anything but to be fed / walked / and loved. And they give us so much more in return.

For an elderly person living alone, an adopted animal can give them the quality of life that they would not have otherwise. A pet to talk to; when no one else is there or cares to. Something to take care of and have feeling of worth – that something needs you.

You seem young, I hope that as you grow older you gain a gentler view of animals and how they effect our lives. Not the way that people effect theirs.

As one saying I have seen is so true: I wish to be the type of person that my dog thinks I am.

I pray that God grants you peace and allows you to get over your hate.

Winter
 
I am a strong believer in animal rights. I am vegan and cannot stand any form of animal abuse. Some of the things you named (the things talked about on those blogs) are forms of animal abuse as well. I do not believe they are equal to humans, but they are God’s creatures and deserve to be loved and treated with kindness. I have two dogs, both were rescues. I do refer to them as my kids and my mother refers to them as her granddogs. I do understand that it offends some people, but I do not have kids yet, so until them they are the closest thing to it. Once I have kids I know that the entire dynamic of my family will change, but until then I do not understand why isn’t okay for me to treat them the best possible way. Wasting resources on them is obviously not okay, but treating them like living beings is what they deserve. I give them my love and attention and in return they love me and comfort me in hard times.

I do understand that some people take things to far, and you might consider me one of those people, but it is not the animals fault. (Yes I read the replies and I know you already changed your statement to you hate the acts of the humans not the animals and I am really glad you did that!)

I just wanted to put my two cents in.
 
Polluted said:
I hate animals at times. Why? How on earth could I hate a puppy you may ask? đŸ€· Because for so many people, animals are literally treated like a human. It’s a sick perverted state of mind and it’s found all too often in our society.

Animals, are not humans, you are not the “proud grandparent” to a new puppy as your bumper sticker may say. Some people actually take this to an extreme, going so far as to have sexual intercourse with their animals and pretending as if they are in a relationship with them. I kid you not there are forums dedicated for people who have sex with their animals. Some of the comments in these forums are shockingly similar to homosexuals validating their own behavior.

My point is, I don’t care how crummy someone feels about humanity. Some people think that’s an excuse to justify this sick twisted notion that animals are no better or worse than a human being.

Where do you guys stand? How attached are you to your own animals. Is it in line with your Catholic faith? Or do you spend an plethora of resources that could be going elsewhere treating your animal like a human? Through your own hurt in life by human beings, have you decided your family poodle is worthy of being treated like a child because “He would never hurt you”.
Click to expand...
👍

I understand where you are coming from. People assign “feelings” to animals just like they are people. Anybody that really knows animals know that animals have instincts not feelings. I’m sure somebody here will call me on this but I have read research that backs this up. Can’t remember where it was and some will say that because I can’t recall that means that it isn’t so.

It is really frustrating when I see people say their best friend in the world is an animal and forsake people for the sake of the animal. You really need humans in your life. Cultivate those human relationships. An animal can’t call 911 when you need it. They can’t fix you a ham sandwich when you need it. In addition I think our Lord puts people above animals. In a recent gospel reading He drove out a demon and allowed the demon to enter a whole herd of swine to their demise. Jesus thought that person was more valuable than a herd of swine. He also reminds us that we are worth a thousand swallows.

I don’t hate animals and have had many pets, dogs, fish, birds. I just try to keep them in a proper prospective. They can be companions for a while, dogs don’t live forever nor do most other pets. God gave them to us to enjoy. Whether it is a pet or as food. Yes Jesus ate meat.

Proper prospective.:twocents:
 
Polluted said:
I hate animals at times. Why? How on earth could I hate a puppy you may ask? đŸ€· Because for so many people, animals are literally treated like a human. It’s a sick perverted state of mind and it’s found all too often in our society.

Animals, are not humans, you are not the “proud grandparent” to a new puppy as your bumper sticker may say. Some people actually take this to an extreme, going so far as to have sexual intercourse with their animals and pretending as if they are in a relationship with them. I kid you not there are forums dedicated for people who have sex with their animals. Some of the comments in these forums are shockingly similar to homosexuals validating their own behavior.

My point is, I don’t care how crummy someone feels about humanity. Some people think that’s an excuse to justify this sick twisted notion that animals are no better or worse than a human being.

Where do you guys stand? How attached are you to your own animals. Is it in line with your Catholic faith? Or do you spend an plethora of resources that could be going elsewhere treating your animal like a human? Through your own hurt in life by human beings, have you decided your family poodle is worthy of being treated like a child because “He would never hurt you”.
Click to expand...
Tsk. Such anger.
 
I like dogs and we have 2 of them. We don’t have kids and the dogs are part of our family - we make decisions around them, as you have to with a companion animal.

Anyone who’s had a devoted dog knows that they feel your pain and share your happiness. OP, it’s a big step to go from talking about dog-lovers to talking about a nasty sexual perversion involving animals. I would suggest the people who engage in the latter behaviour have no good feelings about animals at all, but that’s another discussion.

Dogs are loyal, they protect you, they offer unconditional affection (even when they are ill-treated) and they never judge you. It’s a strange thing to say that someone’s best friend may never even know their name, but people who’ve relied on the companionship and affection of a dog to get them though hard times would tell you how much that loving friend means to them. My dog loves me in his doggy way. When my husband goes up to bed and his little dog runs after him, my old dog will just wait quietly on the stairs until I get to him - then he’ll walk up with me. I never taught him to do that, he just wants to be where I am.
 
Hmm
 St. Francis of Assisi looked at the animals as his brothers. Stories abound of how St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) could communicate with animals and felt at one with all creation. Legend says that Francis preached and communicated with the animals and the birds, and even quieted a noisy flock of chirping birds during a religious ceremony.

It had been said that St. Francis preferred God’s animal creatures to humans-- and I think that’s sometimes true for many of us at times. After all, our pets love us unconditionally. They love us when no one else will. I believe that animals are given to us to show us what unconditional love is all about, and help us to understand that this is precisely the kind of love that God has for us (and that we should have for Him).

I think we could all do well to follow St. Francis’ example.Not to the point of neglecting others who need us, of course
 but to the point of being able to reflect on that unconditional love that we share with our Father, our God
 and to share it with others.

A few days ago, my DH and I were both down with a nasty GI virus and all the “fanfare” that goes along with that. Our 3 cats hardly left the space between us on the bed-- cat lovers fully understand the therapeutic value of purr treatments and ‘massage sessions’. Is there any other ‘member of the family’ who will make it their primary duty to supervise your recovery 24 hours a day until you’re back on your feet (without complaining)?

*Most High, all-powerful, good Lord, Yours are the praises, the glory, the honor, and all blessing. To You alone, Most High, do they belong, and no man is worthy to mention Your name. Praised be You, my Lord, with all your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun, Who brings the day and through whom You give us light. And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor; and bears a likeness of You, Most High One.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars, in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind, and through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather through which You give sustenance to Your creatures.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water, which is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire, through whom You light the night and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.
Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces varied fruits with colored flowers and herbs.
Praised be You, my Lord, through those who give pardon for love of You and bear infirmity and tribulation. Blessed are those who endure in peace for by You, Most High, they shall be crowned.
Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death, from whom no living man can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin! Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will, for the second death shall do them no harm.

Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks and serve Him with great humility.*

*God, our Heavenly Father, You created the world to serve humanity’s needs and to lead them to You. By our own fault, we have lost the beautiful relationship which we once had with all your creation. Help us to see that by restoring our relationship with You, we will also restore it with all your Creation. Give us the grace to see all animals as gifts from You and to treat them with respect for they are Your creation. We pray for all animals who are suffering as a result of our neglect. May the order You originally established be once again restored to the whole world through the intercession of the Glorious Virgin Mary, the prayers of St. Francis, and the merits of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ Who lives and reigns with You now and forever. Amen. *
Some people actually take this to an extreme, going so far as to 
 and pretending as if they are in a relationship with them. I kid you not there are forums dedicated for people who 

Click to expand...
Okay. In most states (but unfortunately not all states), this is a crime. It’s a felony in at least 20 states. At the very least, it may be considered animal abuse in states that don’t have specific anti-zoophilia laws (using polite terminology here). These forums probably need to be shut down and the people reported to authorities for investigation. At the very least, it’s reprehensible, as bad as the “pro eating disorders” websites and such things that are out there.
~Spoken4
 
I have had (and currently have) cats, dogs, and horses, as well as various fish and reptiles. Because mankind was given animals by God, we should be good stewards to them and not let them suffer. However, treatment deserving of a human being is also wrong. Ensuring your animal is well-taken-care-of, healthy (or cared-for if sick), and comfortable should be an owner’s priority. I believe once someone takes on an animal, it’s for life, unless unforeseen circumstances prohibit it. In those cases, research to find a suitable owner is most important. Owners have a responsibility to put their animals down humanely only when they are too ill or old to live a comfortable life, or deemed too dangerous to be safe around humans.

Letting one’s dog sit at the table or climb across the kitchen counter, for example, as well as the inappropriate relationships people have with their animals are also wrong, in my opinion. Animals should be treated fairly and justly, but not with the same treatment deserved to another human being. Animals should be taken care of, but they are not equals. There is a happy medium, and no one need hate animals for things the animal has no control over, and can’t understand. It’s the owner’s fault for improperly training or allowing poor behavior due to the negligence or abuse of their owner.
 
OP, I kind of see both sides.

I am not a vegan, and will not consider becoming one. It also drives me banyans that some now want societies to treat Dolphins as “people,” and that some countries have already given that distinction to apes. Human is human, and animal is animal, I say.

On the other hand, my dog, who died last year, was my “baby.” I gave her the affection that I had no-one human to give to. No, I don’t expect to see her in Heaven (the Church giving no expectation of that). Yes, I will miss her for a very long time.

What the heqq. In this as in so much else, we human beings are not fully rational.

ICXC NIKA
 
I just had to respond.

Animals are loving. They don’t deserve to be abused. When I think of the many instances of people throwing their dogs out of car windows like trash it makes me sick. Some of the cruelty is just too graphic to go into, but I totally disagree with your hatred of animals. If I needed someone to take care of my birds and dogs, I would never pick someone like you.
 
Vegans who try to force an obligate carnivore such as a cat to subsist on a vegan diet are harming
 no, killing their animals. Cats must have meat. They will die without meat. They will develop heart problems and probably go blind without meat and taurine from meat.

If a vegan finds it anathema to serve meat, then the vegan shouldn’t have a cat or other carnivorous pet. Probably shouldn’t even have a Venus flytrap, either. (Note that as a vet tech, I have known lots of vegans who do not eat meat or wear leather or use animal products
 but they understand the and meet the appropriate dietary needs of their pets. And their Venus flytraps. 🙂 )
 
Anybody who reads St. Francis’ life can see that he did not prefer animals to humans, in any way.

He did find animals like the Wolf of Gubbio to be a lot more obedient than his friars


Seeing God’s Creation clearly means valuing humans very greatly, as the crown of Creatures besides the angels, and the Master of all earthly creatures. (Which was what medieval/Renaissance humanism was supposed to be about.)

However, this obviously means also valuing animals, plants, rocks, etc. at their proper value to God, as wonderful and beautiful creatures which He made to be “good.”
 
Treating animals as if they were human does them an injustice. It says that they need to be what we are in order to have value to us. Well, they don’t need to be like us–they need to be treated like themselves.

We are currently owned by two cats (we’ve been owned by as many as five at a time). Yes, cats own their people, not the other way around. Cat people understand this quite well. Each had his/her own personality and needs–I think this is one reason people tend to think of pets as people, but in reality they are just being who they are as animals.

Our cats do come to us for “love”, but to them that means comfort and security more than anything else. That’s okay, though. I don’t expect them to love me like a child loves a parent since they aren’t capable of that kind of emotion. But, they are warm and cuddly on a cold winter evening and good company when being alone becomes hard.

One of my cats actually “disciplines” me if I go away from home longer than she expects. She follows me around, meowing at me and slapping me with her paws until I assure her that I’m home to stay. Our other cat is such a nervous creature he needs a calming collar to keep him from inappropriately peeing. I see both behaviors as the result of us keeping them from becoming emotional adults, as they would have become in the wild. But in the wild their lives would have been short and brutal. So, it’s a trade-off I think they would be fine with if they understood.

I love my cats as cats. I don’t see them as babies nor my relatives as theirs relatives in any form at all. They give to us what they are capable of giving and we give them our affection, food, housing, and well-being of body and mind. It’s an equitable arrangement, as far as I’m concerned.
 
It depends on what you mean by treating animals like “humans”. When people do stuff like dress up their dogs, I would say that it is a weird thing, especially since dogs already have a fur coat anyway. However, I don’t believe that just because your pet isn’t a human (hopefully :eek:), it means it shouldn’t be given some kind of dignity. For example, my cat has needs, like food and water and playtime, but also she needs attention and love too. I’m not going to necessarily feed my cat with golden bowls and only the finest salmon of Alaska, but I will treat her like a member of the family because she is my friend.
 
ChristianDude said:
It depends on what you mean by treating animals like “humans”. When people do stuff like dress up their dogs, I would say that it is a weird thing, especially since dogs already have a fur coat anyway. However, I don’t believe that just because your pet isn’t a human (hopefully :eek:), it means it shouldn’t be given some kind of dignity. For example, my cat has needs, like food and water and playtime, but also she needs attention and love too. I’m not going to necessarily feed my cat with golden bowls and only the finest salmon of Alaska, but I will treat her like a member of the family because she is my friend.
Click to expand...
I feel the same about my cats, but as to how the cats feel about me, that’s a different matter. 😉 If they wander off and find others who will care for them, they often won’t return. I’ve had more than one cat do that.

Some of the reasons I love cats are for the very things some people don’t. I love that they’re selfish, proud, aloof, stealthy, killers, fickle, calm-hearted instead of fawning, etc. They’re being cats. There’s a saying that sums up cats’ attitudes towards us humans: “You haven’t been properly ignored until you’ve been ignored by a cat.” How true that is! LOL!
 
Polluted said:
I hate animals at times. Why? How on earth could I hate a puppy you may ask? đŸ€· Because for so many people, animals are literally treated like a human. It’s a sick perverted state of mind and it’s found all too often in our society.

Animals, are not humans, you are not the “proud grandparent” to a new puppy as your bumper sticker may say. Some people actually take this to an extreme, going so far as to have sexual intercourse with their animals and pretending as if they are in a relationship with them. I kid you not there are forums dedicated for people who have sex with their animals. Some of the comments in these forums are shockingly similar to homosexuals validating their own behavior.

My point is, I don’t care how crummy someone feels about humanity. Some people think that’s an excuse to justify this sick twisted notion that animals are no better or worse than a human being.

Where do you guys stand? How attached are you to your own animals. Is it in line with your Catholic faith? Or do you spend an plethora of resources that could be going elsewhere treating your animal like a human? Through your own hurt in life by human beings, have you decided your family poodle is worthy of being treated like a child because “He would never hurt you”.
Click to expand...
When you say, “treating animals like humans” do you mean “loving animals?” You don’t actually mean someone who’s mentally ill and believes their cat was born in the wrong body or something, right? The reason I ask is, I cannot understand how any human being could not love animals. I’m not trying to be critical or put you down or anything, but the concept of hating or disliking animals is completely bizarre and alien to me.đŸ€· Personally, I find animals far more loving than people, and far more forgiving, too. I certainly don’t consider animals less than humans, really. It’s clear from the Bible that God loves animals and cares about their well being. Also, it’s clear that animals can reason. Every mammal can also feel pain and fear and love. Saint Francis teaches us to be watchful and perceptive of these things. When you stare into a dog’s eyes and you see eternity, or when you can swear he understands exactly what’s going on around him, these are glimpses of truth. It’s one animal honestly seeing and being in the presence of another.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top