Do You Like Pets Better Than People?

Based On What We Spend, Contributor Lloyd Garver Thinks The Answer For Many People Is Yes

(CBS)  Dogs have been in the news lately. The cruelty surrounding the Michael Vick dog fighting ring outraged Americans. On the opposite end of the spectrum, billionaire Leona Helmsley died and left her dog, Trouble, $12 million - and left two of her grandchildren nothing. Most Americans love pets. Do we love them more than we love people? And are some of us trying to turn our animals into people to justify that love?

Football players have gotten into trouble in the past for violent crimes against other people. But in some ways, the anger towards Michael Vick, the Atlanta Falcons quarterback, involved with violent dogfights, was greater than what people felt about those crimes against other people. I don't think this is necessarily misplaced compassion. Despite their ability to bite and scratch, dogs are much more helpless than people. They can't say, "OK, I know this is dangerous, but I want to fight because I love fighting," as human boxers can. And very few dogs can dial 911 for help.

Americans care about pets more than ever today. Nearly two-thirds - 63 percent - of households have a pet, and pet lovers spent $38.5 billion on their pets in 2006, up from $21 billion a decade earlier. According to the Census Bureau, in the last decade, the percentage of homes with pets has remained relatively stable, but the amount of money people spend on pets has doubled. We spend several billion dollars more on dog and cat food than on baby food. According to Bob Vetere, the president of the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, 42 percent of pets sleep in the same bed as their owners - up from 34 percent in 1998. I found no statistic saying what percentage of people share their beds with other humans, but it's obvious that pets are catching up.

Vetere feels the increase in people caring so much about pets is a reaction to 9/11. Pets provide company, calm, and comfort in troubling times. Others point to the fact that many people these days are deciding not to have children, so they have pets - and spend freely on them. Some people, very freely.

Before you start worrying that Trouble Helmsley is going to blow that $12 million in one binge of eating all kinds of treats, or lose it all in Vegas with some dog of questionable breeding, or fall for some business scam, relax. The $12 million is in a trust for the dog, and Helmsley's brother is the trustee. So, forget about sending your gold-digging Retriever to sniff around Trouble.

I know that attributing these human characteristics to Trouble Helmsley is silly. But that's exactly what more and more people are doing with their pets. Some owners dress their pets in fancy outfits. They buy gourmet meals and perfume for their dogs and cats. After consumer electronics, pet "care" is the fastest growing retail business in America. Some owners pay for cosmetic surgery to get rid of pug noses, droopy eyes, and other "doggy features." And there's even a patented testicular implant that sells for up to $919 a pair to restore the way pets looked before they were neutered. So far, 240,000 pairs of them have been sold.

The irony is that some of those who feel they care the most about animals are actually trying to rid them of their animal characteristics and make them more like people. Certain dogs are supposed to have "doggy features" like pug noses or droopy eyes. Why assume that a pet would like to wear a bikini or jewelry just because you do? And how much of a confused ego does an owner need to be obsessed by his pet's genital area?

This excess brings us back to the late Leona Helmsley. To be fair, I should mention that she left the bulk of her money - billions - to charity. But still, leaving $12 million to a dog?

Right around the time that the Vick and Helmsley stories broke, we (coincidentally, I think) adopted a dog from the pound. I wonder, which dog got more excited by the recent gift he or she got? Trouble after hearing the news about the $12 million, or our dog after getting his new squeaky toy?

So, love your pets. Spoil them if you want. But don't try to turn them into humans. Why would you want to knock them down a notch?

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Lloyd Garver has written for many television shows, ranging from "Sesame Street" to "Family Ties" to "Frasier." He has also read many books, some of them dog-eared by now.

[hwy71so]

Animals establish a pecking order and instinctively obey it. What you perceive as loyalty and unconditional love is nothing more than subservience. They''ve basically recognized you as the leader of the pack and are submitting to your dominance.

[AgentGGG]

I believe it is what pets don''t do that humans do to each other that makes them beloved: lie, cheat, steal, disappoint, hate, abuse, dominate and abandon.

[xzavierbrown]

dogs gives humans something that another cannot give...

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE AND OBEDIENCE...

[michellem99-2009]

I have dog sat a friend''s dog. Loved her. Her master left food that she would not eat. Went got her some better food. A thanksgiven Day her master came to dinner.I made him match up to his place bring her to dinner. She loved us. Soon ather that she passed on. A darling.
Yes I talk to dogs even a deaf dog. Dogs love us.
Years ago We lived in hotel and the owner said his dog never entered a person''s room. I told him. Watch yer dog.She did. Reason my blindness. Smart girl. She would stand to be sure I be safe.Her master was surprised.
Dogs touch our lives and we enjoy a walk just to see the dogs we might see with their master/mistress. Dogs can teach so much and the love. They are so aware.

[maidawg]

Citizens for Pets in Condos, Inc, www.petsincondos.org, would like to make sure that seniors and others living in condos have the opportunity to have pets. Some association-run housing complexes are just so out of tune with the rest of the country. How can condos have no-pet deed restrictions when 63% of US households have one or more pet.

We are a 501-c3 tax exempt private operating foundation dedicated to increasing acceptance of companion animals in condos and other types of association run housing. We educate the public about the health benefits of having companion animals and advocate for owner/guardian responsibility. We want to see no-pet deed restrictions replaced with more reasonable pet guidelines. Put the onus on irresponsible owners.

[maidawg]

Citizens for Pets in Condos, Inc, www.petsincondos.org, would like to make sure that seniors and others living in condos have the opportunity to have pets. Some association-run housing complexes are just so out of tune with the rest of the country.

We are a 501-c3 tax exempt private operating foundation dedicated to increasing acceptance of companion animals in condos and other types of association run housing. We educate the public about the health benefits of having companion animals and advocate for owner/guardian responsibility.

[ecuadoriana]

"Why should man expect his prayer for mercy to be heard by What is above him when he shows no mercy to what is under him? (Pierre Troubetzkoy)

"If a man aspires towards a righteous life, his first act of abstinence is from injury to animals." (Albert Einstein)

"All animals except man know that the ultimate of life is to enjoy it." (Samuel Butler)

"I care not much for a man''s religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it. (Abraham Lincoln)

"When a man wantonly destroys one of the works of man we call him a vandal. When he destroys one of the works of god we call him a sportsman." (Joseph Wood Krutch)

"If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience." (Woodrow Wilson)

"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man." (Mark Twain)

"We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It''s the best deal man has ever made." (M. Acklam)

"Lots of people talk to animals. Not very many listen, though. That''s the problem." (Benjamin Hoff)

"Animals are such agreeable friends. They ask no questions, they pass no judgments." (Unknown)

"A friend had just come from an anti-abortion demonstration. She called & asked me out to lunch. I ordered the veggie burger, she ordered veal. She couldn''t see the hypocrisy." (ecuadoriana)

[michellem99-2009]

Some dogs are better than people.
They ask very little in return.
They give love and teach us.
Dogs are the eyes for blind
Ears for the deaf.
Dogs do many jobs .
They are kind in not abused.
Humans do the abuse.
So they must not do that.
A dog will please ye.
Save yer life.
They are smart.
So they may turn.
Who made him/her do that.
Some are taught to be mean.
The handler most likely.
They are human''s best friend.
Treat them well.
Verse by Barbara Ann.
I don''t have a dog. I love dogs.
I ask you give me credit if ye use my verse. Thank you..

[erasmus6]

I can see leaving enough money for someone to look after the dog, but $12 million???? YIKES!

[bobbiehin]

"I''''m proud to be human, created in the image of God most high. And through His son, we have a hope of better things than this life can offer. Something dogs and cats will take no part in."

Of course, dogs and cats will be with us in heaven. All animals will be! How do I know? First of all: "The Lion will lay down with the Lamb," and second, when Jesus came out of heaven after he rose from the dead, he was riding a horse! Our pets are a manifestation of God''s love, and will be right there with us!

[knyghtwolf]

Hwy71So, sorry you feel that way & it is a common misconception in Christian mythology for many people to feel that they have some sort of Manifest Destiny to "rule over the flora & fauna" of the earth. Every thing touched by the Spirit is a part of the Spirit, nothing is excluded. I have several degree''s in social sciences and have found that using religion to attain natural law is quite obtuse & dysfunctionally entropic in a system that relies on a structured enviromment, that is totally imperceptive at best.

[Syndicate]

It just seems like every person on the planet is out to burn you. They all know the value of your dollar and want to take it from you. Your dog just wants to play.

[jegibbons]

It is my unequivocal opinion, based upon a lifetime of working with emotionally dysfunctional individuals of both sexes that any person who admits to a preference for animals over people has suffered an unresolved emotional trauma in childhood.

This trauma prevents some from ever attaining full maturity. Thus, childlike in trusting animals and distrusting all humans in all their contacts.

This is absolutely a symptom of profound emotional imbalance in the adult human being.

It is more common than many might believe
Often profound mental illness accompanies this preference. A healthy, fully mature individual has a choice and is usually equipped to discern which people are trustworthy and which are not.

Giving up on people in preference for animals is often an outward demonstration of defiance and paranoia.

Many folks love animals and keep pets for their comfort, that is however, very different from those who are anxious to tell you that they prefer the company of animals to humans in every circumstance.

[grammawhamma]

Hwy71So....No, you are the poor thing.

[bethrushing]

I have dedicated my life to animals. To their care and comfort and health and wellfare. I am one of the few people I know who doesn''t feel like I have wasted my life in some way. I am a Vet tech. I have a pet sitting business and I run a small trails end sanctuary funded by alumium can donations and selling things on ebay. I don''t dress the animals up and I wouldn''t want them to be humans. I work with them and for them because being around most humans is physically and emotionaly painful. Animals have saved my life and renewed my spirit time and again. And if you can''t see God in the eyes of animals, you will never see God.

[jimfinster]

I''m proud to be human, created in the image of God most high. And through His son, we have a hope of better things than this life can offer. Something dogs and cats will take no part in.

I think it''d be wise to pursue those things holy and regard animals in their proper perspective.
Posted by Hwy71So at 01:30 PM : Sep 05, 2007


Dude, go play with your dog and get off your holy high horse :)

[hwy71so]

"My dogs have taught me much about life, and I am grateful to God for this experience. In the end, I too, like Wil Rogers, want to be where my "guys and girls" have gone. This is where all goodness and justice reigns.
Posted by CBS4me3 at 09:23 AM : Sep 05, 2007"

You poor thing.

I''m proud to be human, created in the image of God most high. And through His son, we have a hope of better things than this life can offer. Something dogs and cats will take no part in.

I think it''d be wise to pursue those things holy and regard animals in their proper perspective.

[drputt45]

Hate to comment on someone dead, but...given Leona''s looks, the attention the dog gave her, like the ol'' hump the leg trick, was probably all she had over the last few years. The dog deserves the 12 million, and more.

[scribe7716]

"If you pick up a starving dog & make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog & a man." Mark Twain ...

[knyghtwolf]

cryonbrian, I am so sorry you feel that way but as far as I can see, and as many others do as well, what have you learned from the recent headlines of people that influence todays young minds? What has Paris Hilton, Linsey Lohan, Britney Spears, Michael Vick, Senator Craig from Iowa, Bush, Cheney, Kove, Clinton, both for that matter, Kobe Bryant, pick any rock star, Ronald Reagan, Jeffrey Dalhmer, John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Trent Lott, Condelisa Rice, Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixson, or Sadam Hussien. If any people of this ilk are influences on your life besides your normal sphere''s of influences, get a pet....it works wonders. Pets influence moods, tempers and attitudes in a positive fashion, people make em worse because they get a kick out of it because they can. I am not out to change your mind, just broaden it a bit if I can.