# You & your pet are stranded far from home. Do you abandon the pet if it means you get to go back? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 21, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-your-pet-are-stranded-far-from-home-do-you-abandon-the-pet-if-it-means-you-get-to-go-back/547480 "2010-07-21T16:42:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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 21, 2010, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-your-pet-are-stranded-far-from-home-do-you-abandon-the-pet-if-it-means-you-get-to-go-back/547480/41 "2010-07-21T19:36:41Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > It would depend on the circumstances, especially on what I had to go back to, and what was going on currently. Instead of _fighting_ the hypothetical, you’re _adding_ to it. 😃 I meant for everone to assume they’d be returning to their lives as they live them now. The single-&-childlesss remain so; the married-with-kids have spouses and rugrats waiting for them; etc. ---
**Author:** ![gallan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ee59a6/32.png) [@gallan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-your-pet-are-stranded-far-from-home-do-you-abandon-the-pet-if-it-means-you-get-to-go-back/547480/42 "2010-07-21T19:36:56Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Of course I’d leave a dog behind to get back home. I’m actually quite surprised to see ANY “no” answers in here, not to mention a majority! You people are weird. 😉 Fully agree, 100%. I have yet to own a dog that didn’t love me unconditionally, so I can just go out and get a new dog. Pets are temporary. Very few have lifespans even half as long as a normal human. When you get a pet, you should expect that, at some point during your life, it’s going to die. To give up your own life to save the life of an animal that’s very likely going to die in a few years anyway is just bizarre to me. ---
**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 21, 2010, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-your-pet-are-stranded-far-from-home-do-you-abandon-the-pet-if-it-means-you-get-to-go-back/547480/43 "2010-07-21T19:41:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I think part of the problem is that some hypotheticals demand to be fought. Sure, maybe I can see that this ship, right now is my best chance of getting home, but I can’t know for sure that there will never be another opportunity. Maybe the captain says there’s no way for the dog to come along, but maybe I can try to persuade him otherwise, or maybe I can smuggle the dog aboard. Sure, the OP says that we should set aside these maybes, but I don’t think most humans can, nor should we. I didn’t say that there WAS no other way. I said that, _as far as you can see at that moment_, there is no other way. I wouldn’t consider taking your chances that you’ll find another way to be fighting the hypothetical. As for smuggling the dog on board, well, the captain is obviously about to cast off, and he’s just said, “Leave the dog right where you’re standing and come aboard right now. I’m not waiting for you to take it elsewhere, and if you try to come aboard with the hound in tow, we’re not letting you on.” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-your-pet-are-stranded-far-from-home-do-you-abandon-the-pet-if-it-means-you-get-to-go-back/547480/44 "2010-07-21T19:45:43Z")
I fling Caelan into the Captain’s face. This distracts the crew enough that the other cats race aboard and secure all weapons. I then calmly walk up the gangplank, kick the Captain’s bleeding corpse overboard (thus lightening the load sufficiently for the cats and I to safely embark), and inform the cowering crew that their new Captain (moi) says to cast off and weigh anchor. The cats then gather on the railing to wave their hindparts at **Skald**. ---
**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 21, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-your-pet-are-stranded-far-from-home-do-you-abandon-the-pet-if-it-means-you-get-to-go-back/547480/45 "2010-07-21T19:47:27Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I fling Caelan into the Captain’s face. This distracts the crew enough that the other cats race aboard and secure all weapons. I then calmly walk up the gangplank, kick the Captain’s bleeding corpse overboard (thus lightening the load sufficiently for the cats and I to safely embark), and inform the cowering crew that their new Captain (moi) says to cast off and weigh anchor. > > The cats then gather on the railing to wave their hindparts at **Skald**. Now THAT is fighting the hypothetical. ETA: Whence came these cats with opposable thumbs? ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-your-pet-are-stranded-far-from-home-do-you-abandon-the-pet-if-it-means-you-get-to-go-back/547480/46 "2010-07-21T19:49:11Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > The single-&-childlesss remain so; the married-with-kids have spouses and rugrats waiting for them; etc. Meh - you don’t get to add in these details now. In my imagined scenario, an alternative, pet friendly route home opens up in a reasonable time span so sticking with the boys merely delays my reunion with hubby - it doesn’t preclude it. I think that’s the issue with the more fanciful of your polls **Skald** - a fanciful poll results in fanciful answers. ---
**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 21, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-your-pet-are-stranded-far-from-home-do-you-abandon-the-pet-if-it-means-you-get-to-go-back/547480/47 "2010-07-21T19:58:02Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > Meh - you don’t get to add in these details now. I don’t see myself as adding in details here. From the OP: [QUOTE=some sadistic nutjob who is also adding in bolded words] By whatever means \*\*you \*\*wish to postulate, \*\*you \*\*are taken far from home to a place you hate, with \*\*only your pet \*\*for company. After a series of unpleasant and dangerous adventures, **you** ’re given one chance to go home. But the person offering the chance refuses to bring the dog along; in fact, he requires that you place the dog, cat, or whatnot on the ground that instant, in his sight, and walk onto the gangplank of the ship taking you home. You have no reason to think you’ll ever have another chance to get out of this situation,and every reason to think that, if you stay in this strange land any longer, you’ll soon be either mad or dead. What do you do? When answering, please think of **your actual pet.** Assuming you have one, of course; if you don’t currently own a pet, but have owned one in the past, feel free to imagine that one instead. If you don’t have a pet and have never wanted one–well I can’t imagine why you’d want to bother, but I’ll include an option in the poll anyway. [/QUOTE] To me, that seems to clearly indicate that I’m asking people to imagine their real selves in their real lives. > [@](#): > > In my imagined scenario, an alternative, pet friendly route home opens up in a reasonable time span so sticking with the boys merely delays my reunion with hubby - it doesn’t preclude it. > > I think that’s the issue with the more fanciful of your polls **Skald** - a fanciful poll results in fanciful answers. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-your-pet-are-stranded-far-from-home-do-you-abandon-the-pet-if-it-means-you-get-to-go-back/547480/48 "2010-07-21T20:45:30Z")
I once had a fuzzbutt who would have ripped the face off anything that tried to harm her. I would not have any qualms about leaving her behind to fend for herself. If I ever came back, she’d be God-Empress For Eternity. I’m single, though, and while I’d like to come back to my parents, my eldest fuzzbutt was abused and abandoned pretty brutally by his original owners. He sets up a-howling every time I leave _and is inconsolable until I return_. Yes, I know, just a dumb animal and all, but a devoted one. Would another cat be as devoted? I’ve never met one, but I guess it’s possible. Still: he goes with me or I stay with him. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-your-pet-are-stranded-far-from-home-do-you-abandon-the-pet-if-it-means-you-get-to-go-back/547480/49 "2010-07-21T21:08:34Z")
Can we barbecue Toto and eat before we leave? :eek: Seriously, pets get left behind in emergencies all the time. Stray dogs and cats were a major problem in New Orleans after Katrina. People go to extraordinary lengths to care for pets. However, there are limits. Elderly people lose pets when they move into retirement homes. Some people give up pets if they are having financial difficulties. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-your-pet-are-stranded-far-from-home-do-you-abandon-the-pet-if-it-means-you-get-to-go-back/547480/50 "2010-07-21T21:23:16Z")
My dogs stay with me. Period. This goes for any dog I’ve had. Humans can fend for themselves, my boys depend on ME. Yes, they’re animals and will “survive” but me being there gives them a fighting chance and both of them having been abandoned at some point, I couldn’t leave 'em alone and stay sane. ---
**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 21, 2010, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-your-pet-are-stranded-far-from-home-do-you-abandon-the-pet-if-it-means-you-get-to-go-back/547480/51 "2010-07-21T21:56:08Z")
> [@buttonjockey308](#): > > My dogs stay with me. Period. This goes for any dog I’ve had. Humans can fend for themselves, my boys depend on ME. Yes, they’re animals and will “survive” but me being there gives them a fighting chance and both of them having been abandoned at some point, I couldn’t leave 'em alone and stay sane. Why do you say “humans can fend for themselves”? Are you saying, given the choice to save your dog(s) and a comparable number of human beings, you’d choose the dogs? ---
**Author:** ![stretch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@stretch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stretch)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-your-pet-are-stranded-far-from-home-do-you-abandon-the-pet-if-it-means-you-get-to-go-back/547480/52 "2010-07-21T22:10:38Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > 'Cause the damned dog will be dead in a decade or so anyway. 😕 And I might be dead tomorrow. I made a promise to the animals in my life, and that includes caring for them in shitty circumstance. If Skald changes the hypothetical to: I leave or I have time to humanely put my animals down, then we can talk about whether I go or stay. Otherwise, I stay. ---
**Author:** ![gallan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ee59a6/32.png) [@gallan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-your-pet-are-stranded-far-from-home-do-you-abandon-the-pet-if-it-means-you-get-to-go-back/547480/53 "2010-07-21T22:20:42Z")
> [@stretch](#): > > I made a promise to the animals in my life… Do you plan on sharing your animal communication technology with the rest of us? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-your-pet-are-stranded-far-from-home-do-you-abandon-the-pet-if-it-means-you-get-to-go-back/547480/54 "2010-07-21T23:18:53Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I think part of the problem is that some hypotheticals demand to be fought. Sure, maybe I can see that this ship, right now is my best chance of getting home, but I can’t know for sure that there will never be another opportunity. Maybe the captain says there’s no way for the dog to come along, but maybe I can try to persuade him otherwise, or maybe I can smuggle the dog aboard. Sure, the OP says that we should set aside these maybes, but I don’t think most humans can, nor should we. Yeah, I think that’s a significant issue here. As I stated, I had no reason to believe that this scenario as presented was true, so I’d have more reason to resist. (Plus currently, I own two rabbits. If I were being truthful about the situation and it’s not Oz, the rabbits would have died of terror or starvation long before getting to the boat and the decision. If they did make it, they would surely be in terrible shape healthwise, and I’d have to think about putting them out of their misery, and I really don’t want to go there mentally for the sake of a for-the-lulz board poll.) ---
**Author:** ![AmunRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AmunRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmunRa)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-your-pet-are-stranded-far-from-home-do-you-abandon-the-pet-if-it-means-you-get-to-go-back/547480/55 "2010-07-22T00:22:43Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Of course I’d leave a dog behind to get back home. I’m actually quite surprised to see ANY “no” answers in here, not to mention a majority! You people are weird. 😉 This. I’m single, childless, and wouldn’t really have much of a tangible life to go back to in the first place… but still, die with my cat in some god forsaken hell hole, or return to civilization and try to enjoy the boring life I have now? On the boat I go. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-your-pet-are-stranded-far-from-home-do-you-abandon-the-pet-if-it-means-you-get-to-go-back/547480/56 "2010-07-22T01:13:39Z")
I’d leave any pet if the choice were ‘leave pet and get back to look after daughter, who would otherwise be orphaned,’ which it seems to be. If that weren’t an issue, then it would depend on the pet. My current pets are two insane budgies who would survive anywhere I could survive, and the little bastards have caused enough problems that I would probably be secretly relieved. A dog that I loved? I’d only leave it if the choice were ‘I leave = I survive and dog dies,’ and ‘I stay = both of us die.’ The dog wouldn’t be helped any by me dying alongside him. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-your-pet-are-stranded-far-from-home-do-you-abandon-the-pet-if-it-means-you-get-to-go-back/547480/57 "2010-07-22T03:18:17Z")
My parrot is fanatically loyal to me and probably has about a 50-50 chance of outliving me at this point anyway. I think I’m duty-bound to stay. Besides, he’s a useful accessory if it’s a world of pirates. ---
**Author:** ![Rala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@Rala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rala)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-your-pet-are-stranded-far-from-home-do-you-abandon-the-pet-if-it-means-you-get-to-go-back/547480/58 "2010-07-22T04:00:51Z")
It’s a nice dog and everything, but this is a no-brainer. I’m getting on the boat. The only thing that makes me hesitate is the thought of how my sister would react if I came home without him. She’d kill me for abandoning him. I’ll have to make up some story about him meeting a nice girl dog and the two of them running joyfully off to start a life together. She’d still be inconsolable, but the damn dog will die in a few years anyway. I’m not sacrificing what could be my one chance to get home so she doesn’t have to cry quite so soon. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-your-pet-are-stranded-far-from-home-do-you-abandon-the-pet-if-it-means-you-get-to-go-back/547480/59 "2010-07-22T04:12:31Z")
My current dog is so loyal to me that I would never consider leaving her. We’d die together. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-your-pet-are-stranded-far-from-home-do-you-abandon-the-pet-if-it-means-you-get-to-go-back/547480/60 "2010-07-22T04:23:50Z")
Have we learned nothing from the [Twilight Zone](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunt_(The_Twilight_Zone))? It’s a trap. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-your-pet-are-stranded-far-from-home-do-you-abandon-the-pet-if-it-means-you-get-to-go-back/547480.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-your-pet-are-stranded-far-from-home-do-you-abandon-the-pet-if-it-means-you-get-to-go-back/547480.md?page=4)