Pets and Perspective

At its core perspective is about having a healthy and realistic system of values. Values are what help each of us separate the important from the trivial to set appropriate priorities, to know what to work for and to know what is worth fighting for. Values determine how we spend our energy and our money. 

One area where this idea of healthy and realistic values seems to be breaking down is the automatic responses of pet owners.

I’ve written before about the family in Oklahoma who wanted to bar their neighbors from a public tornado shelter because the capacity limits would not allow their dog to stay. 

The same story tells of a woman who chose to stay outside with her small dog in the storm when another shelter would not allow it to come in. Although I think it’s foolish, I wouldn’t deny someone the right to risk her own life to comfort her pet. But they have no right to deny a safe haven to other humans for the sake of a pet. It’s no different from the people we read about every winter who risk their lives to save dogs (or other animals) stranded on the ice. The foolish choice rests with them, but their families may be the ones to live with the consequences.

Along those lines, when I hear news reports of a firefighter saving family pets, I wonder if the young family of a firefighter who died in an attempt to save another family’s pet would think it was a justifiable decision. 

I’ve written elsewhere about the thought experiment where people must choose whether to reroute a trolley, where one choice would kill one person while the other would kill five. Among the variations of this experiment is a case where people could save a stranger or their dog. Over one quarter chose to save their dog over another human.

The question arises; do many people really value the life of an animal over the life of a fellow human being? This is apparently the case. Even when it is not a life-and-death decision, more people are choosing the dog.

The headline from earlier this month tells it all. “Survey Finds Over Half of Dog Owners Kiss Their Pooches More Than Their Partners.” Not only that, but the survey conducted by Riley Organics, an organic dog treat company, goes on to say that “over half of dog owners surveyed preferred to sleep with their pet, not their partner, in the bed.” The outcome was 52% in each case, and 61% report kissing their dog on the mouth – I hope we’re not talking about French poodles!

According to another source reporting on the same survey, 94% “said they would rather stay at home with a dog than spend a night out with a human friend.”

I found no indication of the number taking the survey. It may be a small sample size. Also, self-reporting is a less reliable indicator of reality. The participants may also have been their customers, and people who buy organic treats for their dogs are already a little off-center. If that is the case, the accusation about skewed values may not apply to a large part of the population, however, it is suspicious and the behavior seems to be spreading.

If dogs are becoming more popular companions than other people, I guess an addiction to cell phones and texting is not the only reason for the growing interpersonal isolation.