# What is the purpose of having a pet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 1, 2004, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-having-a-pet/227005 "2004-02-01T05:25:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-having-a-pet/227005/121 "2004-02-06T02:50:03Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Folks, **escapol** has left the building. No point trying to respond to him/her. He pops in occasionally. > [@Voyager](#): > > ridiculously expensive Sharper Image ionic brush Some magic beans perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-having-a-pet/227005/122 "2004-02-06T03:06:42Z")
He pops occationally…but he has nothing interesting or informative to say. His answer boils down to ‘regardless of whatever you all say, no one has answered my question. Oh, and you are all delusional power hungry hominids to boot! So there’. I know the mods have already busted chops but its pretty obvious what this guy is. Move along folks…nothing more to see here. 🙂 -XT ---
**Author:** ![escapol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/90ced4/32.png) [@escapol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/escapol)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2004, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-having-a-pet/227005/123 "2004-02-07T07:16:24Z")
I’m going to respond to Lobsang’s post, because it seems to embody what most of you are trying to say. (And to come clean, I share a house with two other people. They have 2 dogs and 2 cats. I deal with the animals fine, I just do not understand it sometimes. A flaw on my part? Maybe.) > [@](#): > > Very young children do not fit this description, yet people have children. Are you going to ask ‘what is the point of having children?’ That’s another question I’d ask, but I think it’s best left for another thread. > [@](#): > > People have pets because they make good companions - A valid answer. Why do you feel the need to purchase a companion? A co-dependent companion who does not have the freedom to say, ‘We don’t get along. Goodbye.’ One thing I like about my friends is that they CHOOSE to hang out with me. So I know it’s a mutual friendship. A dog or cat can’t say, ‘You suck. I’m going to stop hanging out with you and be friends with Tom instead.’ > [@](#): > > People have pets because they grew up having pets - A valid answer. I grew up with conservative racist parents. Does that mean I should also be a conservative racist asshole? > [@](#): > > People have pets because (and if) they are lonely - A valid answer. Then they should seek answers to why they are lonely. Or volunteer. Or see a shrink. Not buy a dog or cat. > [@](#): > > People get pets as gifts - A valid answer. Not a valid answer. And I hope no one would give someone a pet as a gift unless that person asked for a pet. And if you asked for a pet, well, see above. > [@](#): > > People have pets because owning a pet is a mutual benefit situation - A valid answer. If you’re depressed, if you’re in a bad relationship, is having a kid going to help? No. Same with getting a pet. If you need a pet to feel good about yourself you’ve got deeper issues to deal with. I eagerly await the next pile on. And thanks to the person who investigated my prior posts, and thanks for the (I think) compliment. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Joe\_Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Random)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2004, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-having-a-pet/227005/124 "2004-02-07T08:39:41Z")
> [@escapol](#): > > Why do you feel the need to purchase a companion? A co-dependent companion who does not have the freedom to say, ‘We don’t get along. Goodbye.’ One thing I like about my friends is that they CHOOSE to hang out with me. So I know it’s a mutual friendship. A dog or cat can’t say, ‘You suck. I’m going to stop hanging out with you and be friends with Tom instead.’ Oh, but pets _can_ leave. And they often run away from abusive households if given half a chance. Plus, a pet that doesn’t like you _won’t_ hang out with you. It will do its best to avoid you. > [@](#): > > Then they should seek answers to why they are lonely. Or volunteer. Or see a shrink. Not buy a dog or cat. Consider an elderly lady with no family living nearby and most of whose friends have passed away. She’s going to be lonely, and she doesn’t need to seek an answer because she already knows why. Volunteering is out at her age, and there’s no need to see a shrink, because there’s nothing wrong with her. Such a person would greatly benefit from having a pet. > [@](#): > > If you need a pet to feel good about yourself you’ve got deeper issues to deal with. This seems to be a theme with your posts. People don’t get pets “to feel good about themselves”. They get pets because they enjoy having pets. And that, I think, is the real reason that people have pets: Because they enjoy it. It’s as simple as that. Now, I suppose we could ask _why_ people enjoy having pets, but that’s pretty much been answered by all of the other posters. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2004, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-having-a-pet/227005/125 "2004-02-07T18:13:36Z")
> [@escapol](#): > > Why do you feel the need to purchase a companion? A co-dependent companion who does not have the freedom to say, ‘We don’t get along. Goodbye.’ One thing I like about my friends is that they CHOOSE to hang out with me. So I know it’s a mutual friendship. A dog or cat can’t say, ‘You suck. I’m going to stop hanging out with you and be friends with Tom instead.’ > > Then they should seek answers to why they are lonely. Or volunteer. Or see a shrink. Not buy a dog or cat. I have a cat, my cat goes outside several times a day on average, and when he is gone, I really have no idea where he goes. If he didn’t like living with me, he’d have(and has had) ample oppurtunity to leave a seek a better place to live. In the same term, I am taking care of two other cats for somebody else. Both have had numerous chances to go outside and make a run for it, and niether have taken advantage of it. Not exactly being held prisoner, are they? > [@escapol](#): > > Then they should seek answers to why they are lonely. Or volunteer. Or see a shrink. Not buy a dog or cat. People are lonely because they lack companionship. Even withen marriages. Volunteering doesn’t make you less lonely, it’s contributing to the community. Seeing a shrink is expensive and doesn’t nessacary help. Exactly what is your problem with pet ownership? The Animal gets food and shelter, as well as attention and companionship(those this really applies more to cats and dogs then goldfish), the human gets companionship and sometimes a useful worker(guard dogs). I don’t see the problem with that. If you can’t understand that, I give up. If you don’t get it by now, you aren’t going to. You’ve been given the answer a thousand times by this point and you still refuse to accept it. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2004, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-having-a-pet/227005/126 "2004-02-07T18:21:07Z")
Oh, and Joe Random hit it on the head. If an animal doesn’t like you, you will know it. It will run away from you, hide under the bed, cower in the corner, avoid contact with you in any way. If it really doesn’t like you, it will hiss, growl, bark, and generally make it’s disgust with you known. Attempts to “make it” love you may result in bites or scratches. And believe me, the first chance this animal gets, it will likely make a run for it. At least as far as the intelligent animals go. Mindless loving machines they aren’t. Anyone who thinks so has no idea what they are talking about. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2004, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-having-a-pet/227005/127 "2004-02-07T18:37:42Z")
> [@escapol](#): > > I’m going to respond to Lobsang’s post, because it seems to embody what most of you are trying to say. (And to come clean, I share a house with two other people. They have 2 dogs and 2 cats. I deal with the animals fine, I just do not understand it sometimes. A flaw on my part? Maybe.) > > That’s another question I’d ask, but I think it’s best left for another thread. > > Why do you feel the need to purchase a companion? A co-dependent companion who does not have the freedom to say, ‘We don’t get along. Goodbye.’ One thing I like about my friends is that they CHOOSE to hang out with me. So I know it’s a mutual friendship. A dog or cat can’t say, ‘You suck. I’m going to stop hanging out with you and be friends with Tom instead.’ > > \ > > Not a valid answer. And I hope no one would give someone a pet as a gift unless that person asked for a pet. And if you asked for a pet, well, see above. > > If you’re depressed, if you’re in a bad relationship, is having a kid going to help? No. Same with getting a pet. > If you need a pet to feel good about yourself you’ve got deeper issues to deal with. > > I eagerly await the next pile on. Gosh, escapol, have you ever considered seeing a psychologist? After all, I think this constant need to correct and willful ignoring of other people’s **extremely valid reasons** for having a pet might be a sign of a much more serious disorder. Perhaps you should volunteer, or hang out a bit more with your un-purchased companions. Or perhaps you should consider that everyone has different reasons for owning a pet. None of them have to do with purchased affection. A relationship between a person and a pet, like a relationship with a human, is something that grows and develops and changes over time. And as indicated here, pets in fact do run away when they are mistreated. And when they are treated well, they return that treatment in kind. Thus far, your arguments have absolutely no validity. You say you “wonder” why your friends have pets. You don’t appear to have truly “wondered” about anything. You appear to have looked at a situation without seeking deeper information and have made a decision based upon that. You claim to want further clarification, yet you reject every attempt at clarity by putting your rubber stamp of “invalid” on every argument. My cats live with me because I enjoy their company and they enjoy mine. They keep my house clean of vermin, I feed them and pet them and we share a largely symbiotic relationship. I also have many friends who I hang out with, a fiance and a ton of family I really enjoy. I have never had any problems with clinical depression. Why does there have to be something wrong with me for me to own a pet? Your answers so far just aren’t good enough. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-having-a-pet/227005/128 "2004-02-07T19:00:51Z")
> [@escapol](#): > > My fundamental question still has not been answered. > > What makes a person say, ‘I must get an animal. An animal who will be completely obedient to me, and do what I say.’ I never thought it’d come to this, but… cite? You will provide us with a person who says they must have an animal because the person must own, purchase, possess, command, or dominate some helpless creature that has been robbed of its free will and choices and freedom and then we can all ask that person your question together, okay? I’m sure we’d all like to know the answer to this. Since you’ve built your answer into your question, perhaps you should just go away and come up with the answer yourself. Otherwise, the only answer that will satisfy you is, “I bought my helpless kitten because I want to own a voiceless slave that I can torture and threaten and intimidate. It bloats my egotistical self-image by playing god with the lives of helpless, dependent creatures.” There, there’s the answer you’re looking for. You win. Yay! Now we can lock the thread because it’s obvious there’s nothing more here to learn. :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-having-a-pet/227005.md?page=6)