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).
At least the social ramifications of a dog spoiled rotten to the core are nowhere near that of spoiling a child. Just look at Obama and imagine how much better the world would be if his mom had just bought a poodle.
I love it.
But my little girls don’t slobber all over the bottle!
“Yea, I’m guilty of treating them like one of the family.”
Me, too. One of our recent family photos included the dog
About a zillion years.
Pets are a better bet than kids. They’re cheaper, they like you more, and if they turn out to be a loser you can give them to the Humane Society.
Education is less expensive.
You watching that trial too? Day 43 now. I’m glued to the computer. What a circus the duhfense has put on.
Whatever college Baez went to for his degree should send his money back and double it, just so he will never disclose where he went. LOL
Ashton: “Do you toss your dead dogs in the Swamp”? hahahaha.
You never have to put them on your insurance and they won’t make your wife cry.
Loving kindness to animals is not IMO a false expression of love. Though it’s nice and fulfilling for people to love other people too, I don’t see it as a zero sum game.
Another observation - people seldom have just one; the dog needs "company", after all.
Final observation - the emergence of veterinarians by way of practice growth. I grew up never hearing of dog surgery (other than a busted leg maybe), let alone chemotherapy. I'll bet our childhood vet bill never exceeded 15 bucks.
Ditto! I was owned by two basset hounds and even established a basset hound rescue in my community.
My daughter, who grew up with dogs and cats, was devastated when the last basset died. She replaced him soon afterwards, with a Great Dane! I have no problem with a dog sharing our home but I recoil when she refers to him as her baby and me as his grandmother. We have had multiple discussions on the preciousness of human life and God's gift of animals in service to humans. Given what is happening in society today, is it any wonder she demonstrates confusion as to the role of the dog in our lives.
I love my dog,but come on,thats a hell of a dammed stretch
This phenomenon is not necessarily a bad thing. Some people ought not reproduce, and at least they aren’t making too much of a nuisance of themselves; although a case can be made for sympathy for the dog, depending on the breed.
On a side note, one of those yappy little dogs with lots of hair make excellent bait for Chinook salmon. You just put the yapper in one of those doggy life vests with a sturdy hook tied on with a sturdy leader to your favorite rod, and just heave the little bastard over the side. The more he splashes around in the current, the better your chance of landing a real citation fish. You can even rig up a spinner for some extra action.
If you reel fast enough you can usually recover your live bait with minimal damage, but they are usually good for only one fish per weekend of fishing. You really need to let the little yapper rest for a few days if he manages to land a big one...but be advised that after a while he may become afraid of your boat.......
I prefer to think of all the money I’m saving not having to send my dogs to school :-)
I'm betting you have forgotten the role animals serve in the life of humans. They are faithful companions, designed to perform necessary services. They are not a replacement for children or grandchildren.
Article is a clear exaggeration. The over whelming majority of people put humans first. I have a dog that is a part of my family and tease my children about him being “their brother” it is a JOKE!!!!!!! my dog is spoiled...so what? I love him..so what? and IF the elderly want a dog for company...so what? now excuse me while I go find my dog a steak bone:) ha ha
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