Posted on 06/30/2011 3:29:04 PM PDT by NYer
Dogs are often given the title “man’s best friend.” I get that. However, a new title has surfaced which turns one’s dog from friend to family. These days people address their dog as “baby.”
Last December, I received a Christmas card in the mail with someone’s dog in the spotlight posing as Santa. Cute? Sure… until I read the caption which read, “Baby’s First Christmas.” This was just the beginning of my observations.
More recently, I met a rather chatty woman in the post office. She was in the process of picking out a Father’s Day card for her son. Her only requirement was that the card include a dog in its design. At first, I thought this to be an innocent request. After conversing longer, she shared that her son’s ex-girlfriend (who I gathered used to live with him) left her two dogs with this man after her departure. The mother was duly impressed with her thirty-year old son’s ability to take care of these creatures. So much so that that was in fact the motivation behind purchasing a Father’s Day card for him. So, would such a mentality make her a grandmother?
I found that encounter bizarre enough, and did not think it could be topped. I was wrong. In my neighborhood, it is not a rare sight to see folks taking advantage of trails that line the roads. On one occasion, I came across a woman roller-skating. As I passed in my car, I glanced over to see that she had a baby carrier strapped to the front of her chest. I expected to see a child. Instead, a dog was strapped in with its legs dangling and its ears blowing in the wind. I passed in shock.
A few days later, I ran a 5k in some brutal heat. Surely, if anyone had offered me water, I would have happily accepted. That didn’t happen, but I did overhear someone ask the couple behind me if their dog could use some water. I glanced behind me to see a bottle of water being held up to the dog’s mouth.
It is not just water alone that is being offered to dogs these days. The options are endless from doggie cones at the ice cream shop to the best beef in town in the dinner dish. With so many occurrences of dog doting, perhaps in this culture I am the one who is seen as odd. Minority belief or not, dogs will never be humans, and therefore we should stop pretending that they are.
After so many extreme episodes of canine care, I began to ponder why dogs have been promoted from pet to person. I believe it reveals a truth that is written on the human heart. The truth I am referring to is that humans are wired for self-donating love. Scripture reveals each person is made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 2:27). And who is God, if not Love? (1 John 4:8) The Triune God is a communion of Divine Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Call it a family of three. Richard of St. Victor explained that a requirement of perfect love is sharing with another person, and perfect love between two requires loving for the sake of a third.
All persons are made in the image of the Trinity, and therefore, are also drawn into communion. In marriage, God invites man and woman to model this triune love in their human family. We hear what is written on our soul echoed in God’s command to husband and wife: “God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it’” (Genesis 2:28). The love of spouses continues outside of themselves in the flesh of a human person. “For conjugal love naturally tends to be fruitful. A child does not come from outside as something added on to the mutual love of the spouses, but springs forth from the very heart of that mutual giving, as its fruit and fulfillment” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2366).
What does this truth have to do with dogs? If in marriage, husband and wife do not heed to God’s command to be fruitful in the begetting of children, then this hunger to love something outside of themselves, in union with each other, will find false expression. As seen, one example of this is in the adoption of a pet, where an animal gains the privileges of a person. They are seen as the “third” in this communion of husband and wife. It is a twisted truth, a pacifier. What these couples truly desire is a child. “Marriage and conjugal love are by their nature ordained toward the begetting and educating of children. Children are really the supreme gift of marriage and contribute very substantially to the welfare of their parents” (Gaudium et Spes 50).
What a gorgeous dog! I’ve always liked Border Collies and Australian Shepherds, but in truth I like the vast majority of dogs better than I like most people.
Does that mean I don’t know the difference? Nope. But it may mean I ENJOY the difference...
;>)
“Right now I am in the process of getting another dog, for two reasons: 1) I have had my last dog with me for a year and a half and we’ve grown to know each other, so there is emotional room for another; and 2) Harvey would like a dog playmate.”
I totally agree with the idea of getting a second dog.
My older dog, while she loves and is friendly towards all people, simply craves being around other dogs. I would take her to the dog park, just so that she could play with other dogs and “be a dog.” They just don’t get to “be a dog” when they are around people only.
Just after she turned a year old, I found out about a male that was about the same size, only 3 weeks younger, already neutered, and needed a new home. (He had been spending upwards of 60 hours a week, alone, in a laundry room). I went and got him, and it was the best thing that ever happened to both of them. IMO, because of his isolation there were so many things that he had never been exposed to (like the feeling of grass under his paws, no kidding), so we actually had to teach him to “be a dog,” and my female was his best teacher. Dogs really need to be around other dogs.
I see; where my wife’s family is from, they’re all working dogs (Galicia); I don’t think they ever even had cats on their farms.
“The dogs health is his responsibility.”
I can’t imagine the resources being directed towards that when I believe humans could benefit much more from it; that is my personal opinion, and people can certainly have their own. I’m not going to explain to God why my priorities put the animals he created to serve us (as clothing, food, whatever) were more important than the people He created.
“The only time she really irritated me is when I would mention a mile-stone my youngest reached and she invariably answered that one of her dogs could do the same thing.”
I stopped eating lunch with some co-workers because too often a conversation that seemed normal enough on the surface (about a friend or family member) turned out to be either about a dog one had or television characters from the evening before - there were people opposed to company picnics that wouldn’t include pets. These people get their own Darwin Award for removing themselves from the gene pool, almost along the lines of the honorable mention (I believe that is reserved for those who survive).
“And these are not gay men...they’re usually accompanied by wives or girlfriends.”
They are gay men; the women are probably their sisters.
“Ever see personals ads with women posing with or including their dog(s) and cat(s) as if they were children or part of the package deal? Run like hell from anyone that does that.”
That’s too funny; I was married before online dating was popular, but my first concern with this (depending on the age of the woman) would not just be that she’s a weirdo; I’d be afraid she’s looking for a sperm donor to make a toy of her own.
Although I have no intention of owning a dog, I think that your arrangement is great; as you’ve already had children, you will NEVER think of your dog as a person (even if you love it very much). I don’t mind when people have pets instead of children; that is their right and decision. I have the right to be disgusted and amused when they treat them as humans (or better), and ascribe human attributes to them that aren’t real.
“My dogs are better behaved than most people’s children.”
My children would be just as well behaved if I could beat them with a club; get off your high horse. /s
My children would be just as well behaved if I could beat them with a club; get off your high horse. /s
Do you still beat your spouse?
You must be very good at biting your tongue! You can compare dog to dog story, dog to cat story but NOT child to dog story. I was going to say unless your youngest has mastered drinking out of the toilet or dragging one bum’s across the rug (LOL!) It seems strange that she feels the need to compare? Perhaps just because she sees a similarity in her mind but wow!
Are you missing a “sarcasm tag” (/s)?
I included one in my comment; sorry if it offended you.
?
Actually, I loves dogs. Kids, on the other hand, I can do without. If true, this is a welcome development. A block full of dogs- heaven. A block full of kids- well, I won’t comment.
I think God already knows our priorities. In fact, I believe He knew our priorities before we were even created...those priorities may even have been put there by Him!
“those priorities may even have been put there by Him!”
That removes free will, and excuses all kinds of misbehavior; He gave us a map, with a lot of “Do not enter” signs on either side of the road.
Yep and He already knows where we will go, doesn’t He?
Yep and He already knows where we will go, doesn’t He?
You have a voice and could ASK for water. The dog couldn't.
One would hope that having earned a MA in Theological Studies you would be familiar with the verse, "you have not because you ask not."
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