# Are pets slaves? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 20, 2016, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pets-slaves/760388 "2016-07-20T03:07:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2016, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pets-slaves/760388/241 "2016-07-25T14:49:14Z")
Then set aside your guilty feelings, your dog _wants_ to live with you. ---
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pets-slaves/760388/242 "2016-07-26T02:42:34Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Then set aside your guilty feelings, your dog _wants_ to live with you. How can I when I know that they were bred that way for me? Something about that just doesn’t seem right (or maybe I’m just over thinking it). I mean, is it really ethical to just keep breeding these animals just to suit ourselves? I mean we don’t need them to live, so why do we keep doing it? The end result is an animal that can’t surivive without us but we can without it, something about that just seems wrong though. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pets-slaves/760388/243 "2016-07-26T03:39:52Z")
I know people who have ethical misgivings about breeding varieties of animals that have traits that are contrary to survival. Apparently, there’s a fad for a breed of cat with very short legs. They look so cute…but one of the synonyms for cute is “helpless,” and the short legs make the cats inept at most ordinary survival-enhancing behaviors. They’re rotten hunters. The thing is, it’s pointless to use human-societal language like “slavery” or “genocide” or the like in a discussion of animal-breeding ethics. The situation has to be assessed on its own, actual basis, and not on the basis of a comparison with something that it doesn’t truly relate to. For instance, there aren’t any animal CEOs of Fortune 500 Corporations. This is an arrant violation of the principle of Equal Opportunity. Until Ford or Monsanto is run by a dog, cat, or goldfish, I recommend we all engage in a boycott. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pets-slaves/760388/244 "2016-07-26T03:53:17Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > I know people who have ethical misgivings about breeding varieties of animals that have traits that are contrary to survival. > > Apparently, there’s a fad for a breed of cat with very short legs. They look so cute…but one of the synonyms for cute is “helpless,” and the short legs make the cats inept at most ordinary survival-enhancing behaviors. They’re rotten hunters. [Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munchkin_cat) > [@](#): > > The Munchkin is generally described as a sweet-natured, playful, people-oriented, outgoing and intelligent cat which responds well to being handled.[13] The shortness of their legs does not seem to interfere with their running and leaping abilities. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pets-slaves/760388/245 "2016-07-26T03:58:07Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > I know people who have ethical misgivings about breeding varieties of animals that have traits that are contrary to survival. Yes sure, Pugs and English boxers are two examples, they have respiratory problems their whole life, I would never choose to get one. In general pure breeds are going to have more health problems. Personally I choose to adopt animals from a rescue centre, they are usually mixed breed, much healthier than pure breeds and there is no ethical dilemma about supporting puppy mills ( or the feline equivalent) ---
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pets-slaves/760388/246 "2016-07-26T04:00:51Z")
I guess there is a difference between the two situations then. ---
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pets-slaves/760388/247 "2016-07-26T04:06:47Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Dude, one of your cites is from a guy who describes [Charles Manson](http://forbiddentruth.8k.com/manson_nietzsche.html) as: > > _Charles fucking Manson_. One of the most notorious serial killers of the 20th century. I wouldn’t consider this guy a trustworthy source of what’s humane and compassionate. > > We don’t miss the point. We simply disagree. Not one of those those things you describe is soly for the sake of our amusement or done out of malice. > Think of pets more as perpetual children. Not as in “my animals are a child subsitute” way, but as in the controlling what they do because it’s for their own good. If I didn’t control what my cats eat, they’d eat things that made them sick. I don’t allow them to go outside because I don’t want them being hit by a car, attacked by another animal or some asshole who likes hurting animals. (My mother lost cats when she kid to all three, and had a cat injured after being hit with a BB-gun.) > > My cats are spayed because spaying is healthier for them in the long run, and going into heat is not fun for cats. I take them to the vet to get them their shots to keep them free from disease and to help them get medicine when they get sick. That’s your idea of slavery? > > I find it amusing that this is being posted from someone with the name “Two Many Cats”. 😉 You are right. I was leafing through what he linked on Manson, and the guy really has to be cracked to believe anything like that. ---
**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pets-slaves/760388/248 "2016-07-26T04:11:36Z")
> [@](#): > > mean, is it really ethical to just keep breeding these animals just to suit ourselves? I mean we don’t need them to live, so why do we keep doing it? The end result is an animal that can’t surivive without us but we can without it, something about that just seems wrong though. that’s a different discussion. It’s not slavery though, it’s something much more unethical. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pets-slaves/760388/249 "2016-07-26T04:24:59Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > How can I when I know that they were bred that way for me? Something about that just doesn’t seem right (or maybe I’m just over thinking it). > > I mean, is it really ethical to just keep breeding these animals just to suit ourselves? I mean we don’t need them to live, so why do we keep doing it? The end result is an animal that can’t surivive without us but we can without it, something about that just seems wrong though. So why don’t you just let your dogs go out the door and not allow them to come back in? Let them make that choice? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pets-slaves/760388/250 "2016-07-26T04:27:29Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > So why don’t you just let your dogs go out the door and not allow them to come back in? Let them make that choice? :dubious: They just come right back, but I can’t do that. I’d always worry about them. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pets-slaves/760388/251 "2016-07-26T04:30:58Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > They just come right back, but I can’t do that. I’d always worry about them. So they come right back on their own, right? You don’t have to whip the shit out of them, threaten to sell them off to the house down the block, have another dog rape them, etc? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pets-slaves/760388/252 "2016-07-26T04:35:29Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > So they come right back on their own, right? You don’t have to whip the shit out of them, threaten to sell them off to the house down the block, have another dog rape them, etc? > > :dubious: No. They just sniff around, they don’t go past the side walk. After a while they come back in. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pets-slaves/760388/253 "2016-07-26T04:44:24Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > No. They just sniff around, they don’t go past the side walk. After a while they come back in. :eek: Those poor oppressed slaves! When will a hero rise up to free them? Why are not pet owners strung up on gibblets to entertain their own crows? ---
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pets-slaves/760388/254 "2016-07-26T07:27:29Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > :eek: > > Those poor oppressed slaves! When will a hero rise up to free them? Why are not pet owners strung up on gibblets to entertain their own crows? But isn’t it cruel to leave them at home alone? They miss people terribly. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pets-slaves/760388/255 "2016-07-26T07:52:27Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > But isn’t it cruel to leave them at home alone? They miss people terribly. Not that terribly. My dog’s happy to see me when I come home, but he doesn’t show any anxiety when I leave. I’m sure he just lies around in the corner and takes a nap, just like he does most of the day when I’m home. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pets-slaves/760388/256 "2016-07-26T10:07:41Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > But isn’t it cruel to leave them at home alone? They miss people terribly. Meh. I take our three dogs to work with me every day. A large part of the day is spent napping. ETA: just to be clear, _they_ are the ones napping. ---
**Author:** ![katpohl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b782af/32.png) [@katpohl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katpohl)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pets-slaves/760388/257 "2016-07-26T11:19:07Z")
Well now let’s see. My three rescue mutts days are spent sleeping , eating ,playing or in the case of the newest addition ,chewing on things she finds fun to chew on ,but really annoys me when I have to clean a pile of slobbery material that started the day as a hair brush or a house slipper My days are spent acquiring the ’ where with all 'to purchase the 50 pound bag of Kibbles, the bag of bacon treats the three consume per month. Not to mention the price of a visit to the doggie doctor that isn’t covered by Obama care and those visits aren’t cheap . I’m thinking it is me who may be the one ‘slaving’ away to keep my pets in the manner they have become accustom to . So in answer to the query ‘are pets slaves’ , either it is a trick question or the OP has some pretty confused friends with strange ideas on the topic of pets /slavery . ---
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pets-slaves/760388/258 "2016-07-26T17:19:22Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Not that terribly. My dog’s happy to see me when I come home, but he doesn’t show any anxiety when I leave. I’m sure he just lies around in the corner and takes a nap, just like he does most of the day when I’m home. True. Not all dogs are sad when their owners leave, and that’s something you can help train them with anyway. But isn’t it a “mockery of nature” for these pets to exist. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pets-slaves/760388/259 "2016-07-26T17:41:16Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > But isn’t it a “mockery of nature” for these pets to exist. > **[Domestication of the dog](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_the_domestic_dog)** > > The domestication of the dog was the process which led to the domestic dog. This included the dog's genetic divergence from the wolf, its domestication, and the emergence of the first dogs. Genetic studies suggest that all ancient and modern dogs share a common ancestry and descended from an ancient, now-extinct wolf population – or closely related wolf populations – which was distinct from the modern wolf lineage. The dog's similarity to the grey wolf is the result of substantial dog-into- The d... How many thousands of years of nature does it take for it to cease being a mockery? ---
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pets-slaves/760388/260 "2016-07-26T18:42:18Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > [Domestication of the dog - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_the_domestic_dog) > > How many thousands of years of nature does it take for it to cease being a mockery? To me the notion seems off, like how do you determine what is a mockery of nature? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pets-slaves/760388.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pets-slaves/760388.md?page=14)