Yes, I rant. And more than occasionally rave. Get used to it. The subject of today's rant is people who can't differentiate between people and pets. Don't get me wrong. I love our cat, but I remain aware that he is a cat, not a child.
The reason I bring this up is because one of my best friends was recently attacked (mauled, not just bitten) by a dog. She hadn't been baiting it, or threatening it, or acting aggressively. She was at a loss for the trigger for the attack. You'd think, especially in light of this, that the dog's owner would have some serious misgivings about the dog, and would put the dog down. Of course not. Excuses galore, and the blame game "you must've done something." I can understand the impulse for this - we never want to believe that something (note the use of thing, not one) we love can be bad, or have flaws such that existence is no longer a reasonable option. Perhaps we've all become so isolated and individualized that we no longer prioritize what is best for the world at large over that which is desireable for ourselves. (There's ample evidence for this, I think) But that doesn't mean it doesn't drive me absolutely crazy.
Granted, I am not a dog owner, and feel that it's very unlikely that Big Dumb Kitty is going to be going for anyone's jugular at any point, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't give him the needle if he became a menace. I'm also comfortable putting a price tag on his head...if he needed $2,000 surgery, he'd be getting the $100 toxic sandwich. Call me cold - maybe it's a product of my upbringing, only a generation or so away from farmers who considered animals assets, not amigos - but that's just how I roll. I'm a people person. :)
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2 comments:
Good luck getting a $100 toxic sandwich is you want to put down your cat. When our last cat, Miss Kitty, was doing hundreds of dollars of damage per day to our house, I had several vets tell me they didn't "electively" put down animals. Instead they insisted we have many expensive tests run. But clearly, I agree with your overall rant as I am willing to say goodbye to my pets over less than an attack!
I can believe it. When Angus went insane and couldn't be re-trained to use the litter (after many expensive tests, kitty valium and the like) our vet's solution was essentially to put down puppy piddle pads all over the house and change them daily.
I reasearched a million no-kill shelters and Persian rescues, but finally had to do what some of them suggested...give him to the humane society (and hope rescue would pick him up from there...which they did do.) I think we're on the hit list though, for not being on board with dealing with 10 years of incontient cat.
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