Humans and dogs evolved together, in a symbiotic relationship. Are dog owners slaves because the canine figured out how to get a human to feed him instead of fending for himself?
To a lesser degree, it’s the same with other domesticated animals, but I’m pretty sure dogs were first.
Dogs don’t have values. And we don’t do anything to them that we don’t do to ourselves. My dog had as many puppies as guide dogs thought appropriate and then got fixed. I had as many kids as we thought appropriate and got fixed.
Many of us can control our reproduction. Dogs can’t. Look at it this way - dogs are permanently below the age of consent.
Some dogs work. Hunting dogs, retrievers,. herders. Lots of my dogs children and grandchildren are out there helping blind people lead better lives. There are therapy dogs. There are guard dogs. There are bomb sniffing dogs. Do you want to throw this all away?
Out of curiosity have you ever had a dog (or cat but in particular a dog)?
I have had many dogs and while they were “my” dogs and not free to go live with someone else that is about where the “slavery” ended.
It was a mutually beneficial relationship and one we both clearly enjoyed a lot. If you have never had a dog I strongly recommend looking in to getting one.
“Until one has loved an animal a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” ~ Anatole France
No. Animals are trained to perform a job or just to have manners so they aren’t an imposition on their owners and society as a whole. We spay/neuter so they won’t have unplanned/unneeded offspring. How are those human values?
Darn right. Just ask our cat, who’s outside right now on her lovely purr pads, when she’s not bird watching, yowling for treats, being fed and given water regularly, petted and fussed over, with a bed to sleep on at night indoors, and she gets us to let her in and out dozens of times a day.
Who’s playing servant here?
What’s the old saying, dogs say, “They feed me, take care of me, love me – they must be gods!” Cats say, “They feed me, they take of me, they love me – I must be a god!”
Seriously though, cats don’t have the same priorities we do. They want food, a warm place to sleep, to be free of predators, interesting little places to explore and, contrary to popular view, they do want affection. Mine are all little attention whores. They don’t give a shit about “freedom” or abstract concepts. They’re not people – they have no capacity to reason. That doesn’t mean we should abuse them – of course! But that doesn’t mean we should assume that they have the same capabilities as we do, or grant them the same rights and responsibilities.
Yes, in most cases animals are enslaved by their lives, and that includes us, human beings.
But, less put it this way, you are walking down the street and a Grizzlie bear runs out from behind a fence and comes at you. At the same time a strange dog comes running in from nowhere, gets between you and the bear, and howls at it.
What will you do? Do you ‘save’ yourself leaving the hero dog to its fate, like any good little slave would do? Or do you recognize animal superiorority, that the dog isn’t the slave here, and leap into the fray like a free man would do, joining your brother, or sister perhaps, in the enjoyment of pure combat?
