WRT the OP:
It is all about dominion, lordship, etc. That implies both authority
and responsibility.
The OP was about pets, but I think the authority and responsibility applies to both pets and non-pet animals (work critters, livestock, game animals, varmints, semi-feral or feral strays, etc.).
The specifics of the relationship between the critter over which we have dominion differs depending on that relationship (pet, work animal, etc.). But several things are in common:
1. The human is at the top of the hierarchy and makes the decisions.No, Fido is not a human and does not get to make decisions of moment. Anthropomorphizing Fido is an exercise in fantasy. Letting him run roughshod over your authority is foolishness.
2. Needs or circumstances may require that the critter be killed, but both in that situation and in circumstances where the animal lives on, needless cruelty is to be avoided.Slaughtering livestock is fine & dandy, but torturing Ol' Bessie to death for pleasure is not.
3. The disposition of the animal is to be handled and responsibly, as is care and upkeep (where that applies).Willfully abandoning a pet in an apartment, out "in the country" & the like does not reach the mark. Nor is letting one's dogs roam the neighborhood or countryside unsupervised.
If humans weren't better than animals then we would still be animals.
What you are prizing so far above human ingenuity is thoughtless loyalty, which I find to be disgusting.
I understand your perspective.
I don't get all riled up over it, where it has no impact on me & mine. I certainly do not encourage such behavior and would seek to curb it in those for whom I am responsible.
I'll never understand the massive self-loathing threads about dogs seem to bring out. How does "I love my dogs" turn into a diatribe about how vile humankind is?
In any case, anthropomorphism is silly. And no subject makes people quite so irrational and emotional as their pets, so I think I'll just leave it at that.
Agreed.
Heck, I hold as self-evident that human nature is corrupt and immutable. I consider every individual victory over human nature an accomplishment and the collective expression of the greatest (though still fragile) victory over human nature to be Western Civilization.
That said, I think it conveys
much more information about the revile-er than the reviled humanity when they harp on about debased human nature relative to critters. Frankly, it is a case of TMI.
Also, critters can be every bit as cruel as humans. It takes but a few minutes observation of a cat toying with a live, captured rodent or a of a dog that kills prey and then starts to eat it while the prey is still alive & kicking. Not to mention the sheer joy some predators exhibit in the act of killing.
Those who think dogs don't lie need to come on down where coyotes are common and where the 'yotes lure domesticated dogs into play and into an ambush by their pack. There may not be words uttered, but the feigning of friendship/play for the purpose of predation is a lie.
