# The classic 'Who would you save, your drowning dog or a stranger?' question **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 12, 2003, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classic-who-would-you-save-your-drowning-dog-or-a-stranger-question/194541 "2003-08-12T00:52:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ben\_Zehabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@Michael\_Ben\_Zehabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ben_Zehabe)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classic-who-would-you-save-your-drowning-dog-or-a-stranger-question/194541/241 "2012-12-14T23:11:03Z")
This may be a new concept for many, but for a Hebrew, this is ancient wisdom. The answer is found in the old children’s story–Jonah. _“But the LORD said: ‘You for your part, felt sorry for the bottle-gourd plant, which you did not toil upon or make get big, which proved to be a mere growth of the night and perished as a mere growth of the night. And, for my part, out I not to feel sorry for Nineveh the great city’”_ Every educated Hebrew new the value of a human compared to a plant, or a human compared to an animal. The answer is elementary. The saddest part of this question is, it is not elementary for many people. How sad. A human life is always more valuable than an animal life. The lowest human (Hitler) is of more valuable than the most valuable animal (Lassie?). Snap out of it! ---
**Author:** ![Mnemnosyne](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mnemnosyne/32/3347_2.png) [@Mnemnosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mnemnosyne)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classic-who-would-you-save-your-drowning-dog-or-a-stranger-question/194541/242 "2012-12-15T03:35:18Z")
Hmm… Probably the dog, I would say. In the context of the hypothetical, I have a dog. That suggests I like dogs and care about them and most likely derive a great deal of enjoyment from its presence and interaction with it. On the other hand, the stranger is…well, a stranger. It’s unlikely they’re going to become a significant part of my life after I save them. They likely will not provide me with any great reward, nor will they provide me with years of companionship and enjoyment. Therefore, saving the dog is more likely to provide me with long-term enjoyment and happiness. The exception, I suppose, would be if I deemed the stranger to be an attractive potential mate, and I was in a market for such. In that case I might save her, reasoning that I then have an advantage in my attempt to attract her as a long-term relationship partner. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classic-who-would-you-save-your-drowning-dog-or-a-stranger-question/194541/243 "2012-12-15T03:53:38Z")
> [@Mnemnosyne](#): > > The exception, I suppose, would be if I deemed the stranger to be an attractive potential mate, and I was in a market for such. In that case I might save her, reasoning that I then have an advantage in my attempt to attract her as a long-term relationship partner. Be sure to tell her your reasoning. She’ll love that, I’m sure! (I’m surprised this thread is only from 2010. I thought it was much older when I saw the title in my email.) ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classic-who-would-you-save-your-drowning-dog-or-a-stranger-question/194541/244 "2012-12-15T03:55:58Z")
As much as I love my dog, and would be heartbroken if he died, I would save the stranger. Human being vs. critter. This is not a difficult choice. There is no way I could face the stranger’s family and friends and say “yeah, sorry 'bout your loss there, but my dog was more important than your son/daughter/spouse. It’s not like I was going to get any reward for saving them, anyway, so I didn’t see the point since there was nothing in it for me.” That this is even a debate shows how fucked up this world is. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classic-who-would-you-save-your-drowning-dog-or-a-stranger-question/194541/245 "2012-12-15T03:56:49Z")
> [@Michael\_Ben\_Zehabe](#): > > A human life is always more valuable than an animal life. The lowest human (Hitler) is of more valuable than the most valuable animal (Lassie?). That’s not true; plenty of humans, Hitler being an obvious example, have if anything a negative value for their life. I suspect most people would be more prone to shoot him to make sure he doesn’t save _himself_. There’s any number of people that I’d feel no obligation to save. Anyway; all things being equal, generic human against generic pet dog I’d save the human. At least in the abstract realm of theory; in practice I might just assume that the human is better able to save themselves and feel sorry about my mistake afterwards, or I might end up saving the one that’s closest; it doesn’t seem like the kind of situation where I’d be thinking all dispassionately. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classic-who-would-you-save-your-drowning-dog-or-a-stranger-question/194541/246 "2012-12-15T17:25:23Z")
Isn’t Lassie owed something for all those times she saved Timmy? ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classic-who-would-you-save-your-drowning-dog-or-a-stranger-question/194541/247 "2012-12-15T20:11:15Z")
> [@Brutus](#): > > My dog gets saved, of course. > > All this talk of helping out a ‘fellow human’ and ‘the brotherhood of man’ is heartwarming and all, but a bunch of hypocritical rot. > > Everyday that petowner feeds his dog, he is not giving that money (dare I say, ‘and food’?) to charity. Everyday, people die of starvation in the world. You chose the life of your dog over the life of an anonymous human being. The rest of you non-pet owners aren’t off the hook, either. You bought a TV? What, with all the starvation going on in the world, and you spent a couple hundred life-giving dollars on a _TV_? > > Kaiser gets saved, Brutus goes home happy to feed Kaiser and watch his new TV, and they all (well…) live happily ever after. Brutus makes a very good point and demonstrates a classic example of how we can so easily pick and choose how we use our morals. I would probably save the human if he or she didn’t look like a dick and then end up feeling guilty about letting my dog die. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classic-who-would-you-save-your-drowning-dog-or-a-stranger-question/194541/248 "2012-12-15T20:54:11Z")
> [@Joe\_Random](#): > > I was merely pointing out that **badmana** ’s statement of “I also feel that my bonds are unbreakable and I will hold faith with my friends, my loves and my dependants” was not quite true. Even if he considers his bond with his pet unbreakable, there exists a situation where the bond _will_ be broken. It’s just a matter of the situation being severe enough. > > So far, the discussion has been about passively letting someone die, and I wonder how everyone would react if it were made active, instead. New question: > > If you were given a gun and told to shoot either your dog or a stranger in the head, and you were garanteed not to suffer any legal ramafications regardless of your choice, who would you kill? > > I’m curious to see if anyone changes their mind. That’s easy. I’d shoot the one who handed me the gun. I’m pretty sure the world would be better off without people handing guns to random people and demanding that they choose between killing a beloved family pet or some unknown person’s son or daughter. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classic-who-would-you-save-your-drowning-dog-or-a-stranger-question/194541/249 "2012-12-15T21:59:11Z")
My dog is in my monkeysphere. The stranger isn’t so the dog comes first. And, despite the OP’s caviling, dogs can swim without being taught so when I found out he was safe (shouldn’t take but a moment for even the dimmest dog to figure out what to do) I could then help the stranger. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classic-who-would-you-save-your-drowning-dog-or-a-stranger-question/194541/250 "2012-12-15T22:06:56Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > your brother/sister in some way No, it’s a stranger. If it were someone I knew, then in most cases I’d go for the person. If it’s a stranger (or my ex, or one of a couple of former bosses, &c), I’m probably going for the dog. ---
**Author:** ![Ibanez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a4c791/32.png) [@Ibanez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibanez)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classic-who-would-you-save-your-drowning-dog-or-a-stranger-question/194541/251 "2012-12-15T22:11:17Z")
I love dogs a lot more than most people I know. Although it would kill me to let my dog drown, the stranger wins. I think my conscious would eat me up later for choosing an animals life over a human being. This person I’d imagine may have a family, kids that depend on them etc… ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classic-who-would-you-save-your-drowning-dog-or-a-stranger-question/194541/252 "2012-12-15T22:19:18Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > This thread is madness. Anyway, for my own part, I would not allow an emotional attachment to an animal to interfere in my obligation to prevent the death of a fellow human. In terms of potential, if anything. No matter how much you love the animal, no matter its quirks and how adorable it is, a dog is still a dog - its potential is severely limited by that fact, as is its lifespan. A human on the other hand…well, you see where I’m going with this. The stranger you save could have decades of life ahead of them while Fido drops dead in a few short years (depending on breed). The death (or lack thereof) of my dog affects me. The death of a stranger doesn’t. Pretty easy choice, given the basic scenario… ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classic-who-would-you-save-your-drowning-dog-or-a-stranger-question/194541/253 "2012-12-15T22:57:10Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > No question, the stranger. Sorry, Fido, but that’s the way it goes. > > As per the other posters, I value human life more than canine. Ditto. It’s hard for me to believe that there are people on the other side of this one, even though this thread shows that there clearly are. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2012, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classic-who-would-you-save-your-drowning-dog-or-a-stranger-question/194541/254 "2012-12-15T23:08:09Z")
I’ll have to change dog to cat. That said … I’ll save the human, unless I somehow already know that the drowning stranger is a serial killer, mass murderer, or serial rapist. As that knowledge doesn’t fit with the description, I sacrifice both cats, even though I feel really bad about it. I’m a human; humans always take priority with me absent really good reasons to choose otherwise. I would however save my cat before I’d save any dog. And I’m not sure I’d get my shoes wet for a drowning dog. Maybe a puppy. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classic-who-would-you-save-your-drowning-dog-or-a-stranger-question/194541/255 "2012-12-15T23:08:13Z")
I would save neither because there is some element of risk in any rescue attempt. After the event I would blame the panicked dog for causing them both to drowm. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classic-who-would-you-save-your-drowning-dog-or-a-stranger-question/194541/256 "2012-12-16T00:38:32Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > The death (or lack thereof) of my dog affects me. The death of a stranger doesn’t. Pretty easy choice, given the basic scenario… Who raised you? Good grief! ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classic-who-would-you-save-your-drowning-dog-or-a-stranger-question/194541/257 "2012-12-16T01:20:54Z")
I loved my dogs, just loved them to pieces, but I’m a human and my species comes first. I would be very sad my dog had to die, but that’s just too bad. And to be perfectly honest, I suspect some people who SAY they’d save their dog first, if the moment came, would save the person. Instinct kicks in sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classic-who-would-you-save-your-drowning-dog-or-a-stranger-question/194541/258 "2012-12-16T02:08:36Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > And to be perfectly honest, I suspect some people who SAY they’d save their dog first, if the moment came, would save the person. Instinct kicks in sometimes. Yes, ISTM it is often the case with these hypotheticals. I recall one thread where it asked “If you had to murder an innocent child to save your child’s life, would you?” and you had people saying shit like: “I’d massacre _thousands_ of children if need be”! I think where there’s an emotional aspect some people just have a knee-jerk thing where they answer as though they’d literally do _anything_ for their dog/child/lucky sweater. But in RL situations when these things play out, the vast majority of people aren’t that callous, thank goodness. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classic-who-would-you-save-your-drowning-dog-or-a-stranger-question/194541/259 "2012-12-16T09:01:35Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > But in RL situations when these things play out, the vast majority of people aren’t that callous, thank goodness. In RL, most people don’t have to make that sort of decision. If someone is drowning, the choice usually is to save them or not save them, not to decide between them and their own dog. In RL, most people freeze like a snowman and would end up watching someone drown. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classic-who-would-you-save-your-drowning-dog-or-a-stranger-question/194541/260 "2012-12-16T09:12:51Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > The death (or lack thereof) of my dog affects me. The death of a stranger doesn’t. Pretty easy choice, given the basic scenario… The fact that I saved a dog instead of freakin’ human being would damn well affect affect me. Pretty easy choice, given the basic scenario [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classic-who-would-you-save-your-drowning-dog-or-a-stranger-question/194541.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classic-who-would-you-save-your-drowning-dog-or-a-stranger-question/194541.md?page=14)