I dislike animal abuse as much as the next person but seriously? Some people will straight faced say they’d save their dog over another human being - even someone else’s kid. I don’t understand that at all.
I love my cat but I don’t think he’s even worth as much as a terrible human being, let alone a human being I love.
My mother recently retired as president from a rescue shelter she founded. It’s one of the largest rescue shelters in south Louisiana.
I’ve never heard her or anyone in her orbit say or allude to such things as you do in your OP.
Who the heck are these people your talking to?
I’ll go out on a limb and say these people are outliers and not the norm.
Dogs are bred to be loyal and will show unconditional devotion to even an imperfect master. I could see the attraction for someone whose experience of people has not been positive. Or for people who value reciprocation and affection over sentience.
It’s cat-lovers I don’t get. Don’t get me wrong, I like cats. But it’s the same as the attraction I have to Scarlett Johannsen, you know? Not reciprocated at all.
I guess you haven’t seen any affectionate cats, then. The last cat I had would run to greet me, tail aloft & meowing, when I got home from work. He’d carry his favorite toy in his mouth and drop it at my feet, then look me in the eye and ask to play, with a specific meow. We’d take walks in the woods together, him following my heel. In the evening I’d have a purring 14-lb. ball of affectionate fur on my lap, reciprocating every touch. Come morning, the same feller would hop onto my shoulders and we’d shuffle together to get some breakfast. The best animal companion ever. Still, humans win 
Nope, that’s no cat I know. Sure, cats love being pampered - that is the very opposite of reciprocation.
I’ve never quite understood American’s devotion to dogs as pets. Working or hunting animals, perhaps. Working animals often have lots of human interaction and are net net positive in their contribution. Hunting animals often have a habit of sleeping when not on the hunt, get their exercise in small intense pieces…and, if training is essential, get a bunch of human/dog interaction.
Family and watch dogs, though. I don’t think they are worth the effort and risk. 5 million dog bites a year appearing at emergency rooms…probably 10 times that many not reported. Millions of tons of feces, billions of miles and dollars spent on food, vet fees, licenses, doggie day care, etc.
The alternative? Adopt a child, even one overseas. Spend the money on a human being and hope they appreciate it. Write letters to them, exchange pictures. Make sure they are properly fed and have doctor’s care… rather than wasting money on dogs.
If it came down to saving my dog vs. saving the OP, I’d think strongly about saving the dog.
And I don’t even like the beast all that much. 
Some people will straight-faced say the most ridiculous shit. But when push comes to shove, they usually find that they don’t actually mean it. Seriously, how often do you think people are faced with the choice of saving their dog over saving another person?
Maybe you need to meet worse people. 
Is reciprocation really the thing with pets? How many dogs reciprocate all that much, for all their genetic engineering? My cats would greet me when I got home, would come to me for petting and for playing, and would exhibit pleasure and satisfaction for it. Living creatures of beauty that trust me, respond to me and communicate with me. I got just what I wanted out of the deal, and more. We can play semantics but to me it is absurd to state that “cats do not reciprocate at all”. Is the typical pet dog, wagging his tail for you, licking your hand, fetching sticks and sleeping at your feet much different? The slavish qualities of many dogs are actually offputting to many people who prefer the more autonomous felines.
Bolding done by me. That’s the point right there. With humans you’re just hoping they appreciate you. With pets, unless they’re the worst of the worst, just give them food and they love you. Of course people who have had a shitty run of luck with other people are going to think animals are awesome by comparison.
DrFidelius probably has the right of it for the majority of people. No matter what people say, they are very unlikely to hold to their words when actually faced with such a situation.
Reminds me of the latest Superman movie though, Man of Steel. Clark’s dad goes into a tornado to save a dog and dies while refusing help himself. I think my eyes almost fell out from the rolling.
It’s not a uniquely American thing - look at the Queen of England.
Felines don’t put off burglars nearly as much, though…
BTW, I was only being semi-serious above, I really do like cats. Just can’t justify having one anymore, what with them being avian murdermachines and all.
There are certainly outliers who would do extreme things for their dogs that they might or might not for another adult, perhaps not even for a child. But then, there are people who would die trying to rescue a comic book collection from a fire, too.
I love all animals and have had more than a few very good cats, but I am very much a dog person and my attachment to my canines has always been pretty strong - hey, you have a Great Dane sleep across your legs every night and see how attached you get. Better yet, have a matched set squish you in between on the couch. Every night. For hours.
Given the choice of saving a person or one them, it’s no choice at all. But in the case of trying to save them at some great risk to myself… it’s no choice there, either.
Just because I love my dogs does not mean I don’t “love” the disabled kid down the street, or would if I was somehow dogless. That kind of strange logic can only come from those who have no idea what having a pet really means.
I never had a dog,cat or horse turn on me. Can’t say that about humans.
Depends entirely on the person. I’d strongly consider if it was someone I disliked.
Perhaps that makes me somewhat of a sociopath. I’m over it.
Love doesn’t make sense.
Personally, if I saw a random stray cat flailing around in a rip tide, I’d feel really bad but not bad enough to rush in after it. However, if it was one of my cats, I probably would.
But I’m consistent. I probably wouldnt rush in to save a complete stranger from anything that would probably kill me too. But a person I love, yes.
I speak to people I pass by on the street, as is the custom here. I just say howyadoin and keep on walking. But if I see a friendly cat, I turn into Elmira. Because I love cats in a different way than I do people.
animals love anybody with food.
it sets the bar real low.
It really bothers me when people say things like “Oh, it was so sad when that bomb killed 1200 people- because a cat died in the explosion, too!” or how they’d sooner kill a person than a cat (or a dog), mostly because I don’t believe them. But if they were telling the truth, I wouldn’t like them anyway because they’re probably sociopaths.
Usually though, I think what other posters above have said is accurate about how people say they would sooner have a person die than a pet, but don’t actually mean it. How often in real life have people ever been forced to choose between saving a person and saving a beloved pet? I’m sure it’s vanishingly rare, but I can think of one example off the top of my head.
Remember that woman in Connecticut who had a chimp named Travis, whom she’d raised from a very young age? She dressed his human clothes and ate dinner at the table with him, treated him like he was her child. Then one day this woman’s friend came over and Travis chewed her face off. The owner’s first response, even before calling 911, was to grab a knife and stab the chimp repeatedly- it didn’t kill him or stop the attack right away, but there was no question that she didn’t hesitate to kill the animal that she had raised and loved for years in order to save the human.
What do you mean by “saving” here?
When one of our dogs had cancer a few years ago, I spent quite a bit of money for treatment. She achieved a remission and lived three years, dying of something else. The money I spent could have provided medical care for a human; Ichose to spend it on my dog.