Dogs and cats 'won't have the benefit of therapy to unravel our parental shortcomings' ha... I love this post, which I'm sure resonates deeply with many. While animals aren't people, the relationships we form with them are surely no less real.
The animals I care for are everything to me. I only have cats now, but I have had everything from assorted poultry to parrots to horses to dogs to a pig. I love them with my entire soul and the grief I feel when they die is crushing. Those of us with animals to care for have to endure so much grief and heartbreak because we usually outlive them, and often other people don’t recognize how much they mean to us and how deep our loss is. That can feel very lonely.
I'm a strong believer in the phrase pet-parent. Pets are 100% dependent on people for their physical, mental and emotional well-being. We evolved them to be what they have become. They have no agency when taken into a home. We owe them more than just companionship. Yes, parenting pets is different than parenting kids, but the commitment is no less because the dependency is no less.
So important to remember that yes, our bonds can run just as deep as with humans (or maybe deeper) but no, they are not little people. They have species-specific needs and an entirely different experience of life in their human-controlled environment. It is our responsibility to educate ourselves and give them the best life we can.
Dogs and cats 'won't have the benefit of therapy to unravel our parental shortcomings' ha... I love this post, which I'm sure resonates deeply with many. While animals aren't people, the relationships we form with them are surely no less real.
The animals I care for are everything to me. I only have cats now, but I have had everything from assorted poultry to parrots to horses to dogs to a pig. I love them with my entire soul and the grief I feel when they die is crushing. Those of us with animals to care for have to endure so much grief and heartbreak because we usually outlive them, and often other people don’t recognize how much they mean to us and how deep our loss is. That can feel very lonely.
I'm a strong believer in the phrase pet-parent. Pets are 100% dependent on people for their physical, mental and emotional well-being. We evolved them to be what they have become. They have no agency when taken into a home. We owe them more than just companionship. Yes, parenting pets is different than parenting kids, but the commitment is no less because the dependency is no less.
So important to remember that yes, our bonds can run just as deep as with humans (or maybe deeper) but no, they are not little people. They have species-specific needs and an entirely different experience of life in their human-controlled environment. It is our responsibility to educate ourselves and give them the best life we can.