Hold my Chihuahua
 

As humans why do we chose to own pets ? What is it about controlling a captive animal that makes us happy? Is it really humane?

Well the best way to understand this anomaly in the human condition is via humour . . . for example : -

The Taco Bell Chihuahua, a Doberman, and a Bulldog are in a doggie bar having a drink when a good-looking female Collie comes up to them and says," Whoever can say liver and cheese in a sentence, will get to take me out on a date!

So the Doberman says, "I love liver and cheese."

The Collie says, "That's not good enough."

The Bulldog says, "I hate liver and cheese."

She says, " That's not creative."

Finally, the Chihuahua says, " Liver alone..........cheese mine."


Now there arent many animals in the animal kingdom as funny as dogs . . .so we look after them and they tell us jokes! Fair exchange is no robbery!

Amusing, but really, is it fair we keep them on leashes and cages and such? If the dog doesn't want to come back, does it mean you aren't doing a good enough job?

It’s too late to do anything with them other than keep them as pets. What I mean is 95% of dogs are bread to make good pets, not to survive on their own. So, what do we do? Kill them all or take care of them?
Another point would be the healing powers and love a pet like a cat or dog can give to a person. Some folks just don’t have anyone else in their life…..They rely on their pet for the interaction they need to survive.

I read a study a while back that said that dogs and humans have lived together for so long that we have actually co-evolved to understand our body cues. That is why you can feel an emotional attachment to an animal. I also heard that cats have look like they do because they resemble human babies.

is it humane well that depends on how the animail is treated


but i do think that cats like humans i really do they look foward to seeing us and they pur cause they like to be petted

the only cats i have delt with have been well treated

My cat is free to leave whenever he feels like it.
We feed him, so he sticks around!

The thing you have to remember about animals is . . . . . . .they are animals!

you might also bear in mind that the people who own dogs are the people who love dogs the most!

It's humane to have them as pets, as long as they're treated humanely. They're worse off as strays. I volunteer at an animal shelter, and we get strays in all the time. They're never in good shape. Even the toughest dog can't live as a wild animal in a heavily populated area. There's nothing for them to hunt, and they wouldn't be used to it anyway. It may not have been a good idea to domesticate them in the first place, but now that they have been, it would be cruel to force them to live in the wild again.

Tman144 & ishkeb both make a very good points.

common household pets(dogs unversally worwide) can truly no longer survive with out us, and our longevity and quality of life is also greatly aided by their domestication.

life is base around finding food, and having some place safe to consume it.
dogs and humans have had a joint partneship going on for ages.

People like bears... should anyone be able to have one as a pet?

spot on. If you compare domestic dogs to wild or working dogs, you can see that we've selected them to look like babies. People talk to pets like babies and even call them 'baby'. As for whether it is 'humane' to keep pets, it's a classic case of symbiosis. We go out and work to keep them fed and sheltered and they.. erm.. ah.. well, you can't send a baby out to work, dammit!

Cuz they're cute!!! :-P

Cause we get love from them. Some pets will love anything, and there are some people that only a pet would love. That this is authentic love is what we want to think, though some may argue that it is not real. Thats why I'm a cat person..... a cat might actually tell you that "you suck". They're just so loveable in that way. :)

What about reptiles, birds and fish? Cats and dogs are easy to understand, but geckos?

I don't believe in keeping any animal in a cage or locked in a room or inside. I have 2 dogs and they both are free to leave when they want, but they always come back, whether it be just for food or because they actually WANT to. I don't know too much about how domestication worked through the ages, but I'm sure there is a reason why dogs were chosen to live with humans. I'm sure there were bonds between us before we ever tried to tame them.

Geckos? Heck, the reason we like geckos is the same reason we like shiny objects..... they are fun to look at..... and maybe touch.

My cat comes and goes as he pleases (assuming that someone opens the door for him) and comes back not only to eat and be warm, but to come sit on my lap, curl up next to someone on the couch, or just wander around and see what everyone is doing.

He gets as much out of it as we do.

Does this mean that non-mammals do not fit into the same emotional category and are not really pets in the same sense, but living toys? Or even accessories in the case of, say, poodles.