Do you like animals?

[Nitro]

I don't like this thread. You hate them, you say. Hate is a strong word. They didn't even do anything to you, you just hate them. And you hate them because they don't speak English? That's insane, just so you know. You look at them as objects and you aggressivly don't care about them, you say. That's special. Maybe don't make any more threads about your deep hatred for animals. That would be great. Who needs that. It's just a pile of negative nastiness and cruelty.

Negativity is a prolific breeder

 

[Bolletje]

Our pets don't come with perfect communication interfaces installed. They require time, effort, and training. Just like people.

Very true. Both my cats came to me as adults with some kind of mental trauma. The one cat was just indifferent to interaction, the other was terrified of any human. Over the course of ten years they’ve become the most loving, affectionate animal companions my partner and I could wish for. And the terrified cat has turned into a very bossy little lady.

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

 

[Darkkin]

I've had Potato Cat since he was seven weeks old and in some instances he seems more dog than cat. He crates up with the dogs at night, has done by choice since the second day we had him.

He sits on command. Is okay with his leash and does the agility course we set up in the backyard. He comes when we call and is a ham for the camera.

In most ways he is still very much a confident, independent cat, but because we put time and effort into him he is a bit different.

And folks, kudos, this is what objective discussion on a difficult subject should look like. Objective to the topic and its aspects, not the individual (mostly).

 

[maycontainthunder]

Pets provide hours of amusement and various levels of hugs when you feel down.

 

[Jeff T]

Some of the creatures that have adopted me over the decades.
We talk a good bit- me verbally, and them by body language mostly.
I suspect that we both enjoy trying to better understand each other.

Best of all of course is that animals take us as we are, what we consider flaws in ourselves
is not considered something that needs changing by them.

So much more I could say if I were less inarticulate.
(not shown are the several cats)

 

[Alaric593]

Very true. Both my cats came to me as adults with some kind of mental trauma. The one cat was just indifferent to interaction, the other was terrified of any human. Over the course of ten years they’ve become the most loving, affectionate animal companions my partner and I could wish for. And the terrified cat has turned into a very bossy little lady.

My best friend has a cat named Master Fong. One evening we were having a fire at his house and we heard him meowing oddly and loudly so we went over to him and he had an orange calico cat who my friend named Pumpkin. But we still don't know how Pumpkin even made it there because he was so emaciated that he could barely walk. But Master Fong brought him home for care and my friend kept him for a decade. Pumpkin just recently passed away. He was a great and loving animal who was appreciative of his life and even I could see it. He and Master Fong were bffs, always with each other. Master Fong now sleeps where Pumpkin did. He's quite sad over it.

 

[Darkkin]

Science has also proven that pets elevate mood, reduce stress, blood pressure, and heartrate. Dog owners tend to be more physically fit as a group because their pets require exercise. Cats are known to reduce anxiety and aid in healing when they purr...

 

[maycontainthunder]

Having an English Bull Terrier in the house is equivalent to having a three year old child on a major sugar high...

 

[Darkkin]

Ditto with my floofy doofus, especially when we cannot get outside for a walk because it is too hot outside. Alternative, enrichment activities in the basement. Find It. Save Bacon. Tag. Hot Potato. (Potato Cat hides and Rue Dog finds him.) Fetch (as long as the step are involved.) Countdown. Tug.

 

[Zhantera]

I'm very picky about them. I love my own two dogs and reasonably like other dogs, if they are trained nicely. I love manatees, horses and rats. I loathe cats with every fiber of my being. I've owned quite a few reptiles, including 3 burmese pythons and 8 bearded dragons.

 

[Leo Zed]

I have a cat and I wouldn’t know what to do without him. I can tell that he loves me. At night, he HAS to sleep next to me. If I lock the bedroom door, he will scratch at it all night. So, I made him a box with his favorite blanket and place it at the end of the bed. He’s very happy there. He understands a few words as well. I just feel bad when I leave the house. I can tell that he misses me by the way he responds to my opening the door upon returning home. I never thought that I could love an animal so much until I adopted him. He has become a big part of my life. Sometimes I wonder if I love him too much.

 

[Alaric593]

This is Dakota. An American Pitbull. I had her for 13 years.

She loved my daughter and was highly protective of her but not in an aggressive way, she would just get in between my daughter and what she perceived as a potential threat.

Even with me, when I would have my daughter on my shoulders and run around the yard, Dakota would run next to me and bark at me so I tested it. When I put my daughter down, she would stop every time. I'd run alone, nothing. When I'd do it again, she'd bark until I put her down so she clearly thought it was a dangerous behavior for my daughter.

She always chased animals, but would never harm them. She cornered a squirrel once and could have easily killed it because the squirrel was petrified and wasn't moving. Dakota just tapped it with her nose and ran off to chase something else. She just loved the chase but never harmed anything.

Someone called the police on what they thought was my dog because she did like to roam the neighborhood and different dog was being aggressive toward their child.

The police came to the door and Dakota followed me up to it and laid down next to my feet. The officer told me what was going on and asked if he could interact with Dakota to assess her aggression. I said sure, and Dakota just rolled over and let him rub her belly. He said this is obviously not the dog I'm looking for, thanks for your time and cooperation and left.

I miss her terribly.

 

[Gerontius]

Dogs aren't stupid. They can sense hostility and respond accordingly. With a clear warning to keep back.

I side with the dogs. Anyone who can devalue an innocent animal can transfer that behaviour to people with astonishing ease.

I don't agree with you here. That's victim blaming. I have seen enough garbage dogs, and dogs of garbage people who treat their pets well but treat human beings like trash, to disbelieve you on this one.

 

[Darkkin]

My basket case menagerie. Potato Cat, Zwi (greyhound), and Rue Dog. Potato Cat actually has more friends on social media than I do. These guys make me laugh everyday.

 

[Darkkin]

I don't agree with you here. That's victim blaming. I have seen enough garbage dogs, and dogs of garbage people who treat their pets well but treat human beings like trash, to disbelieve you on this one.

That's fair. Dogs behaviour is often a direct result of their owners and environment. And there are a lot of negligent pet owners out there. That is a fact. Pets are a responsibility and not everyone is fit for it. There is also responsibility on the part of the individual and people who treat animals with indifference or as property are more likely to come to grief.

(Some of the very rare occasions I have gotten upset and vocal about something is when a flock of freshman girls decided they had every right to pet Rue without permission when his service vest, gentle leader, and signage were on.

He was freaked out and upset by the sudden mob around him. (We were just walking down the path by the drive-in and BOOM we were surrounded.) I tucked Rue between my legs and I roared. I was loud and blunt as a brick. Get away from me and get your hands off my dog. I was livid about the trauma their stupidity exposed my dog to.

The action and stupidity of these girls was brought to the attention of student affairs and a pet etiquette section pertaining to both pets and service animals was added to the freshman orientation syllabus.)

Pet etiquette is an area of education that is often forgotten about. Different pets respond to situations in individual ways. Clear boundaries, expectations, and communication are key to preventing injuries and accidents.

I have a scar running the length of my right thigh because I stepped between my shibas and an off lead chocolate lab that tried to attack my dogs. I took the bite, but protected my own dogs. I was in middle school at the time.

That bite was the third violent incident with that dog and its negligent owner and the outcome was upsetting.

A few of years later, a couple weeks after we adopted Zwi, (a retired racing greyhound barely two weeks out of foster), we got charged by a pair of off leash pitties, luckily no dogs were harmed, merely spooked. (It was a leashed park and other walkers reported it to the local authorities.)

It was a final offense for those owners. Animal control removed the dogs and both were signed over to the local humane society. (Both dogs (the adult male and female puppy) were adopted out together to a responsible home. Our local rescue groups do background checks and home visits on all applicants.)

 

[Shaddock]

I´m sry but I never was a big fan of dogs. I just don´t like barking and can not really get under way with them, but I was never really in touch with them.
*crewlucaa_ left the chat*

I had never much to do with pets, but our family had a cat in the past.

I mostly like cats: (picture from the internet)

I also saw some hedgehogs (they not ran away, but I not touched them, because I don´t wanted to scare them):

and I like rabbits:

I also find ravens cool and colibris.

 

[Luca]

Bad dogs are almost always a result of bad owners and bad training.

Case in point, I have a dog who was a menace in the wrong hands and was about to be put down, but with my training has become a pretty ideal family dog with highly advanced obedience skills.

People treating their dogs “well” does not always equal good behavior or good training.

 

[Gerontius]

I´m sry but I never was a big fan of dogs. I should just don´t like barking and can not really get under way with them, but I was never really in touch with them.
*crewlucaa_ left the chat*

I had never much to do with pets, but our family had a cat in the past.

I mostly like cats: (picture from the internet)

View attachment 80872

I also saw some hedgehogs (they not ran away, but I not touched them, because I don´t wanted to scare them):

View attachment 80873

and I like rabbits:

View attachment 80874

I also find ravens cool and colibris.

We do not have wild hedgehogs here but they are an interesting animal. We have moles under ground. I know gardeners sometimes dislike them but I always enjoy letting them be.

Interesting point you bring up here. You're not a fan of the barking of dogs. Neither am I--I do not like any of the sensory aspects of a dog in the house, like the barking, the heavy breathing, the slobbering and panting and toenails-on-floors sounds, the wet dog smell or the dust or the hair falling all over the place. The way you respond to this is fairly mature--"never was a big fan of dogs." That's good. That would be truly more like an apathy towards dogs, a neutral attitude. Hating dogs would be antipathy. It's good to avoid negativity.

Some folks want pets, others don't, but for the well-being of OP it's probably better if he was to re-direct his emotions about animals and either 1) have completely neutral emotions with regards to them, or 2) have a more positive outlook on them because he could make a very positive difference for his life, other peoples' lives, and for animals this way. Unfortunately altruism is something that some folks kind of have to "figure out" but the situation is not hopeless.

(P.S. I like rabbits too.)

 

[Darkkin]

Bad dogs are almost always a result of bad owners and bad training.

Case in point, I have a dog who was a menace in the wrong hands and was about to be put down, but with my training has become a pretty ideal family dog with highly advanced obedience skills.

People treating their dogs “well” does not always equal good behavior or good training.

Responsible pet ownership is having reasonable limits and realistic expectations with one's pets. People who do not set boundaries for their pets (e.g. free feeding, no excerise or routine, dogs allowed to roam wherever in more densely populated areas, etc...(If you have an acreage that is a bit different, especially if the dogs are working dogs, (talk about purpose and direction) are just as bad as negligent pet owners. That type of neglect can dramatically affect the health and mental well-being of the pet involved.