Has anyone ever been approached by...

[Paper-Dogg13]

...someone who is apposed to owning dogs/cats etc? My boyfriend was working the other day, and someone walked by with a dog, and the customer he was helping commented on how she hated dog owners. My boyfriend being the guy he is, politely said "I'm a boxer (dog) owner, but please elaborate." Well this woman then proceeded to tell him how it was mean to keep dogs on leashes, and to keep them in crates and all this stuff. She said that all dogs should be "liberated" from people. I knew there were people who were like this but have never encounted (or known someone who has encountered) by someone with these opinions. He then tried to explain why dogs shouldn't just run free in the streets, and that his own boxer was more spoiled then most kids are. She had other ideas, obviously, and well, he didn't make any sales off of that woman.

 

[abradbury.5]

I haven't encountered this with my girl, but we have encountered this at our horse shows. We--very rarely--get people that show up and tell us it is cruel to ride horses and to keep them in stalls and pastures--that they should be turned loose so they can run free!

How insane is that? I can't even imagine (and wouldn't want to) the number of horse-vehicle accidents there would be if we just let them all roam free!

 

[clara's parents]

Wow I've never encountered that. I wouldn't even know what to do if I was.

 

[lost1700]

Just tell her to go to a third world country and she'll no exactly why dogs aren't free to roam anywhere they want. I visited a country in central america and dogs roamed free, nasty, mangy, fleat bitten, rabies, dead on side of roads and lord know what else.

 

[ssleighter]

Just tell her to go to a third world country and she'll no exactly why dogs aren't free to roam anywhere they want. I visited a country in central america and dogs roamed free, nasty, mangy, fleat bitten, rabies, dead on side of roads and lord know what else.

It's like that in Egypt too. It just broke my heart wherever we went there. :(

Many animal rights groups (the more militant ones) believe that animals should not be kept as pets at all. She sounds like one of those.

 

[craZ4HERKIE]

I believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinions and beliefs...however...to me it's idiotic to want to allow all dogs to run free and not be crated and so forth.If she loves pets..which I doubt...she would understand how sad it is...were they allowed to run free, etc.Thank goodness I've never encountered anyone like this!

 

[Toni'smom]

Perfect comeback "I don't own my dog/cat, I am owned by my dog/cat." To each his own, but maybe they should research what would happen if their beliefs were allowed to be. I cry every time I see a poor dog or cat dead along side the road, knowing how much I love my guys and the lengths I go to to make sure they are safe in my home and wonder what those poor animals last thoughts were just before they died. Besides, if they all run free who would spoil them and buy them treats and toys? I'd be willing to bet that if we were to put a vote to the animals they would vote to live with us and own us than have an opportunity to run free.

 

[FarleyBoxer]

Sorry but my reply is very long...

I think the underlying idea of these beliefs is that humans are no more important, inherently, than any animal. They (and this is a very generalized statement) believe that humans have essentially taken over an earth that is not ours to take over. So, that translates into not having dominion over any of the earth's creatures, be that through pet ownership or by eating animals or wearing their fur, etc.

I don't think the point is that they think dogs and cats should just roam the streets, but that they should live as undomesticated wild animals. Of course, that may be the long-term goal, but in the short term, the pets *would* be roaming the streets and cause major chaos.

This is the underlying goal of groups like PETA, which are vehemently opposed to dog breeding, ear cropping, etc. bc they don't believe we should control animals in any way. In my experience, many people who are general supporters of animals rights groups (and think they are simply looking out for animals and pets like the people on Animal Cops and don't believe in wearing fur) do not realize that many of these groups are much more extreme than that.

One website I visited said that 6 million people may have died during the Holocaust, but a billion chickens die a year so we can eat them. This is the kind of comparison/statement these groups make.

 

[BoxerLoverNC]

Our animals thrive on human contact. Given the choice, they would follow us through a blinding blizzard, rather than lie on the warmest bed.

 

[ssleighter]

Our animals thrive on human contact. Given the choice, they would follow us through a blinding blizzard, rather than lie on the warmest bed.

Well said. I could let my guys out to roam free and they'd be sitting on my porch when I opened the door next. What these groups fail to comprehend is that dogs, as we know them, are not wild creatures and never have been. They are creations of man, created for being companions or working animals. Wild bands of poodles and boxers have never roamed the earth free of man's control.

Many of the more extreme groups hide behind the premise of stopping animal abuse. What they really want, like FarleyBoxer said, is for all animals to be free of man's will and control. I agree with them on some levels, but certainly not on their stance with domesticated dogs and cats.