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Post by RealPitBull on Jan 3, 2009 8:32:32 GMT -5
LOL@Jean My fiance is a diehard car freak LOL He sure loves his cars. So I know how that goes. I actually think it's really cute how some people treat/act with their cars.
The only problem I have with comparing companion animals to property like cars, is that, well....cars are inanimate and it doesn't matter to the car HOW I treat it. Animals are sentient beings that can feel pain and suffer. For that reason alone, they should be classified differently.
I don't think that animals should be given the same status as humans as far as guardianship is concerned, but I do think that there should be a specific category for them - they aren't 'property' like a car or a house. They should be viewed in the eyes of the law as something more than just a 'thing' a person owns. And I don't know if I would be opposed to the 'guardian laws', anyway - we don't own children, and we don't have the government knocking down peoples' doors to take peoples' kids away.
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Post by coolhandjean on Jan 3, 2009 12:55:15 GMT -5
I don't agree with Guardian laws. I am not the dog's guardian. I am it's owner. Yes, I will admit I sometimes call my dogs my babies, but I don't actually see them as my children. lol.
Technically, they do have their own category. They are Pets. lol. That is their category. We still own them, but we have to take care of them. I don't think anyone would be okay with someone starving a dog, and being like "well, it's my property. If I don't want to feed it, I don't have to." Heck, if you starve livestock, you get in trouble, and that is most definitely property. So, like I said before those laws I agree with. Other laws go a bit overboard, in my opinion.
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Post by valliesong on Jan 4, 2009 21:00:06 GMT -5
I don't think anyone would be okay with someone starving a dog, and being like "well, it's my property. If I don't want to feed it, I don't have to." Actually there are A LOT of people who feel exactly that way about animals. They are not the majority, but still a very large faction. That's why we see puppy mills and pig gestation crates and laying crates for hens. "They're just animals. They're just property." And really, that why we have animal shelters that have to euthanize animals as well. If animals were treated like living things and not simple property, think of the decrease in surrenders to animal shelters and stray animals not claimed, the decrease in irresponsible breeding, and the increase of minimum living standards for all creatures. I'm not sure that "guardian" is exactly the right word, but I'm not really comfortable with "owner" either. And although I believe in treating houses and cars and trees with respect, it is certainly NOT the same as caring for an animal. A house can be gutted for cosmetic reasons, a car can be sold when it is no longer useful, and a tree certainly needs its roots hacked back when they start invading your sewer line. |
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Post by coolhandjean on Jan 5, 2009 14:36:00 GMT -5
I should have said any sane person wouldn't be okay with starving a dog or any animal to death.
People back in the old days saw animals more as property as we do today, but they understood that if their dog got pregnant, they have to take care of it, even if they have to kill the pups (which most probably wouldn't agree with today), but they didn't have the problems we do now. They, also, had a bit of a respect for them (not all, but many). For example, my boyfriend's Dad, when he was a kid, grew up on a farm. The mule was acting up, and he kicked the mule. His father came over, yelled at him, and told him, "He might be stubborn, but he works good for us, and you need to show him more respect." I think he even got a whooping for kicking the mule. So, I don't think our current problem is the label. I think it's society. Society has stopped showing respect toward animals and toward people. People keep saying we are "progessing", but I tend to be of a different mind, but these are just my thoughts. No one has to agree with me.
People are just as willing to throw a child to the side, I mean look at that sad case of the parents bringing their teenagers to just drop them off. So, I don't feel "guardianship" would really help at all. Like I said, it's not the label, it's the society.
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Post by RealPitBull on Jan 5, 2009 21:53:16 GMT -5
I think labels reflect society's attitude.......
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I look forward to learning much here