When I was growing up people owned pets. There were the few odd folks that treated their pets like people and we thought they were odd. Times have changed.
Boy, have they ever changed.
We are no longer pet owners. We are "Pet Parents". There are supermarkets with special gourmet foods for every kind of animal we might own. There are orthopedic beds for elderly cats and dogs. No longer is your pet relegated to the basement or garage during cold weather, there are small heaters and air conditioning units for the dog houses. Some have even built special houses for their pets where they can go visit pets while they are outdoors.
There are special made diapers for dogs and cats. They wear costumes and other clothing. You no longer give your dog a stick to chew on. You purchase the correct dental chew for your type of dog. They are now people in short furry bodies with limited language skills.
People, have we totally lost our minds? Of course we have. We spend billions on animals that we keep in our homes. We not only feed them and give them an old blanket to sleep on, we treat them oftentimes better than our own children.
We have 6 dogs. The 3 outside dogs (each over 50 pounds) which are in a 5,000 sq ft pen that is shaded and they each have their own dog house, but on cold nights they cuddle up together. They are fed dog food. I heat their food when it is below freezing outside. They have all been spayed and as long as the girls don't wake me, they are free to bark and howl all night long if they choose to do so. We actually paid for one of them, mostly to get her away from the breeding pen she was in. The other 2 just showed up as puppies and we kept them.
We have 3 small dogs inside. Two are Chihuahua and the third (Chihuahua Dachshund mix) we adopted when his owners gave him away because he was too small for their needs. These three are spoiled rotten but I refuse to let them have their way about everything. The oldest, Raymond a neutered male, about 18 months ago weighed 14 pounds. He was having trouble breathing and moving around. For his size, he was morbidly obese. My solution to the problem was to feed him less and stop giving him treats.
My husband thought something else was wrong and insisted on taking him to a different vet. The vet's diagnosis - obesity which was putting pressure on his hips aggravating his hip dysplasia and the fat caused him to have breathing problems. The vet put him on a strict diet and said we were to feed him only the diet food in the proportions given and water. I tried to put us on a similar diet. It didn't work as well for us. We were too used to range feeding. It happens.
So, we are guilty as well. We treat our dogs better than we treat ourselves. We also have 3 cats. One cat is 19 years old. I have been expecting her to die for the past 3 years. She is healthier now than she was 3 years ago. Like myself, I have no idea how much longer she will live. No one knows how long we have and we don't need to go around with that "I-don't-think-I'll-be-around-another-year" attitude.
We need to live each day to the fullest and learn to put things in perspective. These animals are NOT our children. The LORD gave us dominion over the animals which means we need to care for their needs and simply tend to them. I suppose everyone has a different idea about what HE meant about having dominion over the animals, but I do not believe we were to be equal to or the same as animals.
Dogs rarely go above the understanding level of a two-year-old human child. That undoubtedly will make them smarter than the average human on drugs or those who simply insist upon being stupid. Due to this and the odd study that shows intelligence level of a variety of animals equal to humans, there are a few vocal humans who would like to see animals gain rights equal to or above those of humans. Those special people regard humans as equal to a virus or a pimple on the face of the earth.
I love my husband. I love my child. I am fond of my animals. I like my dogs. I like my cats. I like to watch the birds at the feeders. I am not a pet parent. I am a pet owner. They are not my children nor substitutes for children. They are animals. They have their place. I enjoy them in their place.
Shalom. Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.
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