This is a picture of me with my favorite all-time pet, Doggo, a mut Terrier. The pic was probably taken around 1972/73 when I was about 19 or so.
I have only had four "real" pets in my life. I am not counting Goldfish, Turtles or Budgies as real pets. They are more or less room ornaments that will inevitably be flushed down the toilet or put in a shoe box and planted in the Garden. You mourn them for about an hour or so at most.
I've had two dogs and two cats. The first Dog was an asshole and the first Cat was an asshole but the second of each were really nice animals that I got quite attached to.
And that's the problem with pets. You know sometime or other they will cause you some considerable heartache. The more you are around your pet and the "closer" you become to it the less you perceive it as an animal. It become an object of extreme affection and trust. Dogs especially.
So knowing that your heart will be torn when this animal is crushed by a car, eaten by a coyote, fall ill to distemper or cancer or kidnapped, why bother?
There are lots of actual people who dream to have someone care for them as some people care for their pets. Why not bestow all that love and affection on them?
There is a good chance you will outlive them and even if not, the love might last longer.
Yeah yeah, a pet's love is "unconditional". I wonder how unconditional it would be if you stopped feeding it or petting it.
There are those that will spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars on an animal that is clearly meant to die and surely will in the near future.
Meanwhile there are homeless humans crouching in a corner under a blanket to protect themselves from the winter winds.
I just don't get it. Pets are fun to have around if you have the time to give them the attention they require. But to think of them as anything other than fun animals is asking for a whole lot of hurt.
