Cats and dogs

Observation notes from my second day on this planet: 

This morning I observed another one of the two-legged creatures leave its nest with one of the smaller four-legged creatures for the activity which I had also observed the previous evening. The purpose of their activity is not clear. They move on their legs at a slow speed and do this for about an hour. They do not seem to communicate but seem to be conducting the activity together. They do not seem to bring anything back from the journey but the four-legged alien sometimes deposits things on the ground which the two-legged one picks up in a small plastic bag. There is sometimes, but not always, a connecting line between them. I am not sure of the meaning of this, but will observe again tomorrow.

If I visited Woodbridge from Alpha Centauri I might be confused too. In fact, if I visited from Earth in 1700 I might also be confused. The picture at the top is one of the several dog emporia that we have in this fairly small but also prosperous English town. Dogs are big business. Cats too. AI tells me that British dog owners spend about £10 billion a year in total. I see no reason to doubt that figure. It is more than the GNP of 15 countries in Africa.

I know many people who truly love and value their dogs and cats, and I can see many positives in their feeling towards them. The dogs and cats provide companionship, company, interest, exercise in the case of dogs, and perhaps most importantly, an opportunity to look after another creature and consider its interests. Although in fairness I would say that if there are other humans in your house you should be treating them in exactly the same way (and I have heard of partners who are less good at the two-legged than they are at the four-legged).

But I do have mixed feelings about pets, especially when they are such a focus of spending and care and attention and worry. I know that we shouldn't be species-ist, but they are just animals, aren't they? And is it right to treat them better than some people are treated? And even though at least the dogs do seem grateful for food and comfort and exercise, you cannot know that they have the feelings that you attribute to them, and it is wrong, isn't it, to anthropomorphise them so that you see them as some kind of four-legged child or friend? To say they are 'happy to see you' is a bit of a stretch, as they can't actually tell you how they feel. 

I should, I suppose, at this point consider that when we talk about 'anthropomorphising' animals we might be just as guilty in an opposite direction in the way that we view ourselves because even though we might incorrectly think of animals as human in a way that they are not, we can also think of ourselves as 'not animals' in a way that is equally untrue. We are animals, linked by mortality at the very minimum, and despite the widespread belief in immortal souls, we do not have any evidence for it. We are made of flesh in the same way as our dogs and cats are. But we can talk, and record and remember, and write blogs, and I think that matters in some way. Just not sure what way. 

I think the furthest I would go in the 'problems with dogs and cats' direction is that I have met some people who I suspect loved their animals so much because they did not talk back. Some of these people had children. I can see problems with this reason for liking your pets. But of course I have met far more people who were lovely towards both their pets and their children, so it is not a case of dogs=bad but 'some people need a better balance'. 

In more prosperous countries there can also be a sort of 'arms race' between pet owners, where a particular expensive breed becomes a status symbol, sometimes to the disbenefit of the pet itself. A friend of mine has a very tiny rescue dog which had joint problems caused by it having been carried around as a 'handbag dog' when this was fashionable. This competition to have the top dog is not just morally suspect but can also be harmful for the pet itself, so lose-lose. 

I do not want to finish as some kind of Pet-Scrooge or Pet-Grinch. Everyone has the right to spend their time and money and effort in any way that they choose, and I would never say "You shouldn't do that" when it comes to owning a pet. And I do completely understand that pets can be a lifeline for many people. And it is not just the 'old person with loyal terrier' that I am thinking about here. I know that when I was teaching young children some of them had the most supportive and nourishing relationship with their pet of choice. And if they had things that they could not tell another human, they sometimes would tell their pet. And for that reason alone I have to say that dogs and cats certainly can be good and valuable and add to our lives. And they of course can also provide great content for memes and cartoons, of which I reproduce one of my favourites below: