"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
Mohandas Ghandi said that, and I, animal-lover to the core, believe it whole-heartedly. Now, in some cases, this makes me a hypocrite because despite my aforementioned affinity for creatures of the four-legged variety, I am NOT a vegetarian. Barbecued chicken or steaks on the grill are way too good for me to pass up, and I NEVER met a burger I didn't like. However, I have been known to start fights with strangers at the dog park because of what I believed to be unnecessarily harsh treatment of their dogs, and I also think the punishments for animal cruelty should be higher than what they are currently. Don't even get me started on Michael Vick.
One of the main things that struck me about Alice Walker's essay was her steadfast belief in the idea that animals possess human emotions, i.e. love, despair, loneliness and happiness. There are so many things going on in "Am I Blue" and I am anxious to discuss them with you all during class, but for now, I want you to focus on the notion of anthropomorphism (very similar to personification.) First things first--do you have a pet? What kind? What is his/her name? How did you choose that name? Do you believe that you can communicate with your pet or with animals in general? Can they communicate with you? How do you know? What is your take on the activists that spend hours campaigning for the rights of animals? Are they wasting their time frivolously when they could be helping human beings out there in the world? Do animals even HAVE rights? Should they? Should there be a limit to what people do for them? If so, what is it? (400 words/45pts)
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This blog is actually kind of funny and my dog's name is kind of ironic here. I have a basset hound named Allen, he's 3 and a half years old, and when there's snow on the ground, his legs are so short that his belly makes a path through deep snow:). Now that that's out of the way, I'm a huge supporter of animal rights but am not a vegetarian- the same situation as you, Bunj. We "rescued" Allen about two years ago. My cousin who lives in PA was the way we found out about him- Allen lived in an apartment with a 21 year old guy named Mike (my cousin's friend) and although he loved Allen, he knew it wasn't fair to keep him. The stereotypical 21 year old was a partier and I've heard some stories how they used to give my poor little pooch beer. Mike used to work all during the day too, so Allen would be in the crate the whole day. So my cousin knew of my undying basset hound love and Mike gave us Allen. He was already named when we got him, and I LOVE his name. I think it's perfect because Allen is a human name, and he's treated like one in our family. I don't know if dogs totally understand us, but I know they recognize the sounds of certain words- the usual "sit" "bone" and "walk." Allen's even smart enough to know W-A-L-K (spelled out!) You know, when you say the magic word, your dog's ears perk up and he cocks his head to the side. I don't think the animal rights activists are wasting their time. It seems like there's two kinds of pet owners in the world... the ones like my family who treat their pet as a part of the family, and the owners that treat animals as property or objects and abuse them. I hate watching the news and seeing stories about people who attacked or never fed their pets. It seriously ruins my life and that's why I HATEHATEHATE the news. It's always BAD news. But that's another story. I think animals should have rights- people shouldn't be allowed to have them if they can't afford to feed them and give them the proper necessities that they need in order to live. I don't see any reason why animals should be abused, and if anyone in this blog does, I still won't believe in it. I don't think that every pet owner needs to be like Paris Hilton and buy diamond-encrusted clothes for her dog that cost more than MINE in order to be a "good" owner.
OoO! I like this question. I have a little puppy dog named Dakota. Last December, Kylie and I, along with our mothers went to see some small puppies that were posted in the newspaper. They had only been about two or three weeks old when I first met Dakota. Kylie also met her dog there, Rudy. Cute as buttons, we wanted them to be ours.
Dakota was tiny and all black with a smooth silky coat of fur. Although he was four hundred dollars, he was worth it. This was my first pet ever, I was so excited. For a few weeks, I was so attached to him that I'd let him sleep in my bed, wrapped up in a receiving blanket, he was so small. He was so shy, he never barked, and he cried at night. He wasn't trained yet so I had a bunch of puppy pads down so he could go to the bathroom. I love him. He was so shy that he wouldn't even eat his food. Since he was a tiny tiny puppy dog, we had to take kibbles of dog food and mix it with water and let it sit. Once it sat, it got all mushy, the perfect consistency for him. He still didn't eat and I felt bad so I wrapped him up in his blanky and fed him with a baby spoon. He liked that, he finally ate!
I forgot to mention, Dakota is a Cairnoodle. Funny, right!? He's mixed between a Cairn terrier and a poodle. Anyway, back to the questions, you asked, Bunje, I am the one that named my puppy-dog-tail, I like calling him that. Every time I see him I say a rhyme that he loves, I like to think that he loves this: Snakes and Snails and puppy dog tails, that's what Dakota's made of, that's what Dakota's made of, and he gives me kisses. (Sorry, I still haven't answered all of the questions.) Ok, so I named him. At first it was like that hardest thing in the world because a name is for forever. I always seem to look on the complex side of things. I feel bad when I have a baby.
ANYWAY, I keep getting side tracked! Ok, so it was so hard that I came to school for suggestions and even got people to vote on it. There were so many names like Midnight, Munch, Munchkin, Bear, and so many more, not Dakota. For about four days, his name was Munch, but I decided to change my mind and Dakota just came to mind. I wanted to name him something real, like a human because he’s like a human in my family. I like that name Dakota. I do believe animals can communicate with people. Dakota does all the time. When he's in the dining room by himself, with the gate up, he sits behind the gate and cries. Sometimes I feel bad and let him out, but usually he's a good boy. He likes to hump people, he needs to get neutered. If Dakota was human, I think he'd be a bad ass. He's getting better now, but before if I would open a door, he'd run out and runaway and when I would chase him, he'd think I was playing. That's when he'd go in the crate. I know he can communicate with me because he does. When I was eating steak last night, he crawled up next to me and cried. I knew he wanted a piece. I spoil him so I gave it to him. I always know what he wants.
Before him, I never really liked animals, but he's changed my life. I'm all for the activists campaigning for animals rights, if not them, who else would stand up for them? All animals are thankful for that. They aren't wasting their time at all, in fact, this is better than helping humans because humans are weird. Funny? I know I'm a comedian. I think humans are weird because of the way they act. Many humans don't realize that they can help themselves, animals can't. Animals, like humans, have a special awareness of their lives that differentiates them from the plant and mineral kingdoms. The animal’s rights are:
The right to be treated with respect.
(1)The right to physical, psychological, and emotional health.
(2)The right to not be exploited.
(3)The right to live in a suitable habitat.
(4)The right to be valued for who we are, not for how we can be used.
(5)The right to cooperatively share the Earth with other species.
(6)The right to live as much as possible according to our natures and to express our individual characters.
I'm happy they have these rights because there are wackos that enjoy killing animals, for example, hunters. No offense to anyone, but I hate hunters. I can't seem to grasp the concept as to why people seem to find enjoyment in killing innocent animals. I hate hunters. I don't want to sound like a hypocrite because, like you Bunje, I eat meat with no problem and the people that kill them are hunters. I never realized the reason people choose not to eat meat. When I eat eggs, I don't worry about the chicken. When I drink milk, I don't question how the cow was that I was getting this from. I never questioned it until now. It's a very controversial topic because I could be a hypocrite again with the fact that I love meat but hate killing animals. What about insects? Ok, I HATE BUGS, so how about I won't even get into that right now. Anyway, I don't see a limit as to what people do for them. If a dog owner is rich, they can buy their dog Dolce and Gabanna leashes, clothes, and collars, I can't knock that. (What I mean is I can't hate on them for spoiling my dog). I spoil my dog anyway I can, well sometimes. It's weird because now I feel like I want to be a vegetarian, but then again, there's a food cycle everyone goes by. Why not eat meat if we were made with the teeth to eat meat? It's very controversial, like mentioned before, but just know, I' all for animal peace.
Like Jozanna said, I think they should have a rule saying the owner should have a sufficient amount of money before buying a dog, or any pet, good idea!
CAN YOU BELIEVE I HAVE 1085 WORDS!!!!!!!
(THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN ABOUT!!)
I'm actually glad that we have a blog about animals because I absolutely love animals! I have three cats of my own, Mikey, Shadow, and Moe. We actually found two of our cats and "rescued" them, like Joanna did with her dog, Allen. Mikey was given to us by a woman when he was a kitten and Shadow was wandering around my dad's work, so he captured her and brought her home for me. Moe, along with his sister Sulley (not my cat), was found in an abandoned box on the side of the road in Weymouth. Shadow and Moe are technically supposed to be my cats, but you see Bunj, I got screwed over by my cats. Mikey is my brother's cat, Shadow loves my mom, and Moe is my dad's best friend. I raised Moe since he was 8 weeks old and he doesn't even show me any love for it :(, but it's okay. Nevertheless, I love my animals with all my heart as all pet owners should. Their names, we actually just kind of made up from their personalities. Moe is crazy and playful, Shadow is terrified of everything and everyone, and my brother is obsessed with the name Mike, so he named his cat Mikey. Moe actually almost became a Chloe because we thought he was a girl, but he soon rolled on his back and we discovered that he was DEFINITELY a boy!
I completely agree with all of Amber's animal rights. Animals can't help themselves most of the time and humans are not the only species on this planet. Afterall, we were once animals at some point, what makes us different from them now? We should learn to share our world with other people, which is going to be hard since humans are so greedy these days and can't even share things with humans.
Their is no excuse for abuse, whether it is human or not. My grandmother always said that animals are just as smart as humans, so why do we not treat them like humans. My father never hits me, so I would never expect him to hit my cat. Animal rights activists, I think, make wonderful contributions to helping animals. Sometimes I feel that they go alittle bit overboard, such as PETA and throwing the paint on models at fashion shows. That is not needed. Those poor models are only doing their job and they did not kill the animals themselves.
As I say that I love my pets, if I was in the situation of putting them asleep or going bankrupt, I wouldn't know what to do. I have seen my uncle spend hundreds of dollars on his dog to have a cancerous tumor removed, and sadly, it grew back and their was no hope. Spending that kind of money is crazy. I love my pets with all my heart, but some things just can't be done, unless you have animal insurance. I think animal insurance is such a good thing to have. People can't afford to do certain things for their pets, but having this should help aid in having a long, healthy life for their furry friends.
First of all, I want to say that I totally and 100% agree with Joanna. This is why she should be the President. She can debate any topic wholeheartedly, even if it's not the side she believes in.
Now that I got that out, I have two dogs. They are bichons, which look like poodles but they are short, fat, and stubby. Their names are AJ and Max. AJ was given to us by someone who my mom has known since she was little. He and his family were moving to Arkansas and couldn't take the dog with them, and they knew that we wanted a dog. The three girls in the family named him AJ for the Backstreet Boy named AJ. Mind you, this was like 6 or 7 years ago. AJ is 8 now. We got Max the day after my 12th birthday sleepover. My mom took my sister and me to "run errands". When we were about 5 minutes from my house, she pulled out a "puppy name book", and my sister and I flipped. We were so excited because all we had been talking about was getting a new dog for over 6 months. We were stuck between Teddy and Max, but decided on Max because my dad would never have it if we came home with a dog named Teddy.
I believe we can communicate with our pets. My one dog Max may be dumber than a rock, but he definitely knows when I call "treat" or "walk". However, I don't believe people can speak to dead animals or read dogs' minds. "Dog Whisperer" is a load of crap in my mind. My dogs definitely communicate with me. AJ was trained when we got him. He is trained to ring a small bell that hangs from a piece of string on my back door when he wants to go outside. Eventually, after Max followed him around for the first year of his life, Max caught on too. They also have taken a habit to throwing their toys from their mouths at me every time they want to play.
I think that animal rights activists are right and justified in their actions. Obviously, animals are on this planet for a reason, or they would not be here. Everything on Earth is here for a reason, even the stupid squirrels who dig up the tulips bulbs in your mom's garden every spring, and the frogs that swim in my pool at night when my dad forgets to put the cover on. Even though the animal rights activists could be helping humans instead of animals, most humans often forget that animals were on Earth millions of years before humans were. They should absolutely have rights. Joanna made a good point about the news and how reporters only talk about bad news. They are never talking about how many animals were rescued from local pounds every year, or the new treatments for animal cancers. They always talk about the animals who are taken away from their parents (I hate to use the word "owner") because they had too many cats or starved their dogs. I still can't even believe that clubbing baby seals to death is a recreational sport in Canada. If you are not fit to have an animal in your home, you should let someone else have that animal so it can have a good life the same way you would want a good life.
After the lose of my old loving pets I walked into the animal shelter in Cape May looking for a new little friend. No, this was not a replacement, but just a way to help save an animal and get a new pet. Not only did my family walk out with one little kitten, but two. Throughout my life I have had many many animals and loved them all. I acted as if they were all human and deserved everything I did. Currently I have two cats, two frogs, lots of fish, and would love to have more animals. The two cats are Misty, which is my cat, and Simba which is my brothers. The fish have many nicknames ranging from Ducky to Pinky thanks to many of my friends. The two frogs are Margarita and Roxy. I chose the name Misty just because I liked the name and not to many animals have that name. And my brother chose Simba and I'm not sure quite why, but probably because of the Lion King. The fish just got names because of their colors and stuff like that. And the frogs received their names because They are bright lime green which reminded me of a margarita and my brother's ex named hers. I do feel that I can communicate with my two cats but not so much the fish and frogs. My two cats are treated like humans. They are spoiled and practically act like humans. When they want attention they cry like crazy almost like they were whining. Then you talk to them and they meow back as they were talking to you. I also feel that they feel emotion and can read human emotions. When anyone in my family does not feel good or is sad they roll around and cuddle to try and make situations better.
My Dad is very big on hunting and he doesn't really like animal activists. I feel some of the things they argue are reasonable, but really a lot of it is just ridiculous. I myself am not a vegetarian. There is probably nothing in the world that will change this. I feel that people need to eat and this results in the killing of some animals. But this doesn't apply to household pets and animals alike. And the whole thing about hunting I do not feel it is wrong. If humans didn't hunt then there would be an over abundance of deer and other animals so this is a way to reduce population and receive food. Yes, animals do have rights. Even though they aren't always followed or enforced I feel they should be. I feel animals shouldn't be harmed unless they harm someone or something else. Or if it comes to an emergency situation. Animals are in a way that they are just like humans. Why would people want to hurt such things that don't have lots of self defense? When I see animals abused and harassed I feel very disgusted and see the person as a dark cruel horrible person. Animals should always have rights because they are living and can't speak to humans and be like "Stop your breaking the rules and hurting me!" And YES there should be a limit to what people do to them. I feel hunting is OK as long as everyone is following the rules and not going crazy shooting every deer and baby deer and other animals alike. And the whole meat topic I feel that people need meat for certain necessities and people shouldn't worry about this factor. When it comes down to animal abuse I think there is no acceptions and the person should get in lots of trouble. When I see things like this on the news I get disgusted and feel the person should be tortured like he/she did to the animal.
I agree with Joanna when see stated "I think animals should have rights- people shouldn't be allowed to have them if they can't afford to feed them and give them the proper necessities that they need in order to live. I don't see any reason why animals should be abused, and if anyone in this blog does, I still won't believe in it. I don't think that every pet owner needs to be like Paris Hilton and buy diamond-encrusted clothes for her dog that cost more than MINE in order to be a "good" owner." I also think people should have to provided for their pets if they buy them or adopt them. But I disagree with Amber when she talks about hunters. All hunters don't kill animals because they like killing animals. Like I stated above hunting is helpful to our world. If it wasn't for hunters there would be to many deer and other animals and could spread many problems. And also hunters do this for food supply also. If you eat meat then you should have no problem because hunting isn't as bad as food processing.
Thanks guys, I agree with everyone too!
First of all, I want to say that I totally and 100% agree with Joanna. This is why she should be the President. She can debate any topic wholeheartedly, even if it's not the side she believes in.
Hannah, are you trying to get Leslie to beat me up or something?!?!?!??! hahahaha
Yes, I do have a pet and as a matter of fact more than one. I have a dog, which is a mixture of pit and bull and possibly some other things, but he came and found us and we kept him and named him Rex. I also have two cats, one my neighbor’s cats had babies and she gave us him and the other my brother found and we kept him, their names are Friskie and Tiger. Soon I will be getting another hamster because my friend’s hamster had babies. I have had ducks, chickens, hamsters, fish, and rabbits before, each of them had a name, but they all passed away over time.
Each animal we have now has a special name and we made sure the name fit their personality and the type of animal they are. My dog, Rex, actually one day randomly showed up at our house and wouldn’t leave. We set out flyers and posters, and an ad in the newspaper saying, “Anyone missing a dog?” But we received no responses so we kept him. So then we decided to name him, we almost named him Mickey because his ears use to stand straight up. But my brother said the name Rex and he came so we changed our minds and named him Rex. My cat Friskie, was named that because a wild cat had him in my neighbor’s basement and when he was young he was a little wild and frisky. The other cat we have now is Tiger. My brother enjoys finding kittens and bringing them home, and that is what he did with this cat. He brought him home one day and the soft orange and white fur was enough for my parents to let us keep him. My brother also decided the name for this cat also. Basically, in every story of my pets my brother was the main reason for my family having any animals.
I do believe that you can communicate with your animals. I believe they understand the different tones in your voice and know whether you are angry or in a loving mood. My dog has gotten to the point he knows when he has done something wrong when we aren’t home. He doesn’t greet us at the door. He goes and hides when he hears loud yells at shouts and puts his face down like, “I’m sorry.” My cats are a little bit different the one cat use to never show emotion until we got Tiger. Now he knows when we want to pet him and he comes over and lets us pet him. And Tiger is the house cat that shows love all the time but easily gets scared. I think he is still young, where the other two pets’ understand humans more.
I do believe that animals should have rights and shouldn’t be treated terribly by their owner but I do not believe they should have the same rights as humans. I believe that humans shouldn’t treat animals harshly or anything like that. Just I don’t believe that animals are as important as humans. I am definitely not a vegetarian because I believe that is one of the reasons that animals are on this earth and they also are going to die anyway. I do love animals though. I love pets I have and I see they have emotions and some feelings. I do think that people shouldn’t mistreat their animals and just not feed them because that is a terrible thing to do. Also I do not believe that any other outside force should inflict pain on animals like Michael Vick, but I think activists could be spending a little less time on animals and more on humans.
I agree with Joanna’s blog that owners do not have to be like Paris Hilton or the people on Petsmart commercials and buy their pets everything. She said the owners should at least buy the “proper necessities,” and I agree. Also I agree with Danny when he comments on Amber’s blog. She mentions how she hates hunters and how they enjoy killing innocent animals. But as Danny put it, the hunters aren’t killing deer just for enjoyment. They are killing deer for a source of food and as he put it they also keep the deer population under control. I do not know everything about hunting but I am pretty sure there are restrictions to which type of deer you can shoot, which allows the population of deer to stay under control.
Well I have to say that while everyone’s points make good arguements, I disagree. And I think maybe its because I don’t have any pets. I’ve never had pets because my mom is really allergic to animal fur. I’ve had the short lived fish, as has everyone, but nothing more. I think Ms. Bunje you bring up a good point on how you love animals, but then are not a vegetarian, and it’s funny because I was having this discussion with a couple friends this weekend. I don’t think that eating meat makes you any less of an animal lover. The vegetarian my friends and I were discussing this with said that it was our faults, the meat eaters that is, that cows are dieing, because we are demanding for them. But sure supply and demand, but by getting one person, even one hundred people to stop eating meat will not make a big enough difference to stop people from killing cows to make those juicy hamburgers. Personally, I could not live without meat.
As all people, I am very sensitive to animal cruelty and cringe at the thought of animals getting taken advantage of and being hurt, aka Michael Vick.. I also am extremely against, as Joanna mentions, to buy a pet when you know you can not feed it or afford to take care of it. She is absolutely right when she says you don’t have to be Paris Hilton to your dog, but at least provide them with the essentials. I’m not the biggest animal lover out there, but it breaks my heart to see a dog or cat stranded outside in a pen starving to death; that is just unacceptable. However, I do not believe that protesting an animal’s rights is effective, at all. I actually think its pretty ridiculous when you see a group of protesters protesting an animal. For example, last month by the mall a bunch of people were protesting to save a circus elephant. I mean sure, the animal shouldn’t die, and I’m sure those people were passionate about saving that animal, but does holding a sign in front of cars really make a difference? I think no matter how many people protest it, animal cruelty will always remain in society to some degree, unfortunately. It’s been part of people’s pasts and is somehow enjoyment to groups of poorer people (as in Michael Vick’s case, at least that’s what he claims). It’s unrealistic to think that not a single animal will get hurt. There are medicines and products that need to be tested. And it’s better to test them on animals than humans, don’t you think? People always let rats get tested on, but when it comes to different animals like dogs and cats, then suddenly its wrong?
I do think that animals should have rights, but I think it’s hard to put a finger on what those rights should be, I mean we obviously can’t get any input from them on this topic. I do think however that anyone that buys a pet should be making a financial agreement that they can afford to support this animal. Having a pet is like taking on a kid, you have to pay for everything, you need to feed it, bathe it, walk it, take it to the vent, and the list goes on and on. Though, I also think that people shouldn’t try and do everything for pets. It’s inevitable that you want what is best for your pet, but at some point other’s interests need to play a factor. For example, testing for medications and products that could potentially save lives need to be tested, which is now usually done to rats. This reminds me of the movie Legally Blonde when Elle is trying to save her dog’s mom from the laboratory. Everyone feels that connection with animals, animal lover or not, but at some point we need to trust in the experimenters and know that they are not intentionally harming animals, and the outcome to their testing and procedures is for the better of the people. I think if people start caring about animals they should start protesting ALL animals, not just the cute fluffy dogs, but what about the rats too? (even though I’m really not a fan of rats, they should have equal animal rights)
Well, I have a 6-½ year old beagle Shit-zu mix named Odie, but he also responds to Michelle, food, walk, you wanna and Baby. He got his name because of the Garfield show. I used to love watching Garfield because he loves lasagna, just like me. Well, the dog on Garfield was Odie. I guess you can call him the love of my life in canine form :) He’s my little lion. We adopted him from the Camden County Animal Shelter almost 4 years ago. Before we got Odie I literally begged my parents for a dog for years! I had been walking up the hallway full of cages with these helpless little animals. Then I came across this timid looking fur ball. He didn’t bark and he didn’t even jump. He only stared at onlookers with his big brown eyes looking innocent as can be. I looked at him and it was like love at first sight. I was the 1st one to take him out of his cage and pet him. My mom and I think that’s why he loves me so much. I was his savior from euthanasia. Odie shows me unconditional love. That’s why I can talk to him so easily, or it could just be that I’m a sucker for big brown eyes and wet noses! Odie doesn’t know his alphabet, but if he wants something all he has to do is stare at you and with some crazy telekinetic mind freaky weird stuff you know what he wants!
I hate it when people talk down to my dog or any dog. My brother talks down to my dog ALL THE TIME, and if he wasn’t my brother AWW MAN!!!! but that’s a whole different story. (ask me about it later) I’ve gotten into countless fights with him over it. I will take Odie’s side over anybody’s. I guess that makes me a little of an animal’s rights activist. I know I’m not wasting my time because Odie will gain that much more respect every single time I preach to my brother about how wrong he is for doing what he did. That in itself is satisfaction and reason for me to keep going at it. Jo definitely has a point. There really are to kinds of people in this world, those who know that animals have rights and acknowledge that fact and those who are completely oblivious to it and don’t realize that animals have feelings too. Michael Vick deserves whatever he gets. He just better be lucky that I wasn’t the prosecutor for his case! Even though animals can’t talk they utilize a better form of self-description. Actions speak louder than words; do they not? There shouldn’t be a limit for what people do for animals. As long as it’s positive it’s fine. I don’t walk my dog as much as I’m supposed to and sometimes I get mad when he digs into the trash and drags empty ravioli cans into my room, but I love my dog soooo much. Ask anybody who knows me! But I have to stop now…because I could sit here and talk about my booboo all day.
Oh YAY! I seriously love the topic of this blog considering how much I love animals. I have two cats, Pepsi, and Tips. Now I've never really thought of this until now, but their names aren't common at all, haha. I got Pepsi about 6 or 7 years ago. It seriously only feels like 2 years, but anyway...so I got him when we lived at my old house in town along with this sister Baby. I named him because he was my kitty and because he's brown and black, like the color Pepsi, duh. He's seriously the cutest thing you've ever seen. Especially when we rolls on his back and meows every two seconds whenever someone is cooking something. Tips on the other hand is still a little baby even though he's over a year old. My daddy came up with the name because he's a mix between a tabby and Siamese so he has a light brown body, almost white, with dark brown feet, his tail, and his face and ears. He's so special to me because Darrell has his brother and sister who look nothing like him at all. Oh and by the way I find it ironic and cute that I seem to mention Darrell in my blog at least once every week. Anyway, so that's my pets.
I completely believe that I can communicate with them and they can communicate back. Obviously animals can't talk, except parrots and I so wish I had one for that reason, but they can communicate in ways that humans can understand them. Pepsi and Tips both know their names and when I call them, they come. We feed them wet food every night and they come running when they hear the can banging on the counter. They have a brain so something must be going on up there that they can communicate with humans.
Don't get me wrong, I love animals, well most animals, but some people take the whole animal rights thing way too far. I don't believe that an animal should be treated like a human because I eat meat and I don't see anything wrong with it. It's good for you and you need it to stay healthy. But there is obviously a limit to how people treat animals. Just the other day I saw this commercial for PetSmart. Some stores now provide a hotel type of stay for pets. When these animals go there, they get treated like humans. TV’s in their rooms (like a dog watches TV) and luxury items that they don't even know what they are. That's just unnecessary. But on the other hand I do believe people who fight for animal rights have strong points. An animals shouldn't be abused or treated harshly, but they still should be treated like a animal, not a human.
I completely agree with Joanna. Along with HATEHATEHATING the news, I think that pet owners need to take responsibility for their pet. If they couldn't afford it, then adoption is the way to go, not abandoning it or starving it. It's the same with a baby. If you can't take care of it properly then let someone do it that can.
I have many pets. I have two dogs, a cat, a bearded dragon, two betas, and a turtle. My dogs are named Babe and Roxy. They are English Mastiff & St. Bernard mixes. I chose Babe as my one dog’s name because she snores like a pig and I named her after Babe the pig from the movie “Babe.” I named my other dog Roxy just because I love surfing and the surf brand Roxy. My cat’s name is Mulan just because I have a thing for naming my animals after Disney movies. My bearded dragon’s name is Mushu because in the movie Mulan there is a dragon named Mushu. My one fish’s name is Fishy, just because I started calling it that and never stopped. My other one’s name is Sushi just because I thought that was an ironic name because Sushi is dead fish. Then my turtle’s name is Spiffy just because I bought it in Myrtle Beach and I met this cool surfer there whose nickname was Spiffy. I think I can communicate with my dogs and cat, but not like my fish and lizard. I think that I can communicate with them through tones that I use and just my body language. I also think I can communicate with them through the way I treat them and by my emotions. You wouldn’t think that dogs could sense emotions but they definitely can. It’s like when you’re in a certain mood and your pet can just sense it. I think that they can communicate with me through certain things that they do. I think they can communicate through their actions, barks, and their behavior. I feel strongly for the activists that campaign for the rights of animals. For people that truly know me, they know that I am an animal fanatic. I absolutely love animals and feel they should be treated with the respect that you treat people with. I don’t at all feel that they are wasting any moment of their time. There are enough people fighting for the rights of people. More people should be protesting for animals. If the people fighting for animal rights stopped, who would fight for the rights that animals deserve? Animals can’t fight for themselves so they need someone to fight for them. Should people just leave poor innocent animals to be abused? They can’t speak out loud. They need someone to represent them and care for the well being of them. Animal activists make animal rights and giving more rights to animals a top priority. I absolutely undoubtedly feel that animals have rights. They have the right to good homes and care. No animal deserves to be mistreated or malnourished. I think they definitely should have rights. I mean, why shouldn’t they? An animal is a being with feeling and emotions. They can’t just be tossed around like tools or objects. I realized that I agree with Michelle over what the limitations should be for how people treat their pets. I don’t know if there should necessarily be a limit to what people do for their pets. Each pet owner is different. There should definitely be minimums for pet owners, like giving a pet a good home, but I don’t know if there should be a maximum. Every pet owner is different. If you want to be a lady that leaves a dog billions in a will, I don’t think anyone should be able to stop you. I don’t think that every dog needs a billion dollars, but if someone wants to do that, who should say it’s wrong.
Just to comment on what you said Bunje, I absolutely love animals too but I’m definitely not a vegetarian. I couldn’t ever pass up meat. I too though definitely feel that there should be higher penalties for animal cruelty. I watch Animal Precinct on Animal Planet and it is just appalling to see what people do to their animals. I feel that same about Michael Vick, too. That was one of worst things I’ve seen on the news lately. But ya, I could go on and on about that one.
I didn’t even read this at first but then I saw someone else commented about it. This may seem weird but I absolutely love my pets and fight for animal rights, but I’m a hunter. And to what Amber said, I absolutely don’t think I’m a “wacko.” It’s not that I “enjoy” killing animals. Not all hunters are like, “Oh boy! lets go hunting because it is so fun.” I hunt for food, not because I find it fun. It also teaches you to respect nature and what you take out of the world. I didn’t like how she said that she hated hunters, like categorizing them. Does she hate all hunters? Does she hate me? Most people don’t know that I hunt so will I suddenly have a random hatred against me. I am extremely big on animal right and don’t feel that domestic animals should be abused or randomly slaughtered, but animals like deer need to be kept under control. Hunters keep down the population and I don’t think that they are abusing animals because they don’t kill animals inhumanly or torture them. Food has to get on your plate some way. Also, back before super markets people killed their own food. They were put here to provide us with
A year a half ago, my mom finally caved in and let my sister and me get a puppy (we had only been begging for 7 years). Her name is Lily and she’s a bichon, like Hannah’s dogs. We call her Lillian if we’re mad at her though. Thinking about it, it’s kind of funny that we do that because parents call their kids by their full names when they’re angry with them. We really do treat her like she’s our little baby. I actually don’t know how we came up with Lily. It was between Lily or Chloe and she looked like a Lil. My mom thinks we wanted to name her Roxy or Lilu (which we didn’t) and my sister insists she’s the one who came up with the name.
I think I can communicate with Lily. She understands what I say to her, even if she doesn’t respond. She can be pretty stubborn sometimes. The only trick she knows is sit because she’s not the sharpest tool in the shed. But she can get my point by my tone of voice. She communicates with me too. She barks and tugs at my pant leg when she wants to play. She whimpers when she has to go to the bathroom. My personal favorite is when she licks my face when I’m crying, as if she’s telling me everything’s okay.
The other night, I was watching Law & Order and this woman was blowing up corporations that tested hair products on animals. I normally don’t think that people who spend all their time fighting for animal rights are wasting their time. However, that seemed like it was pushing it. I wouldn’t be willing to go to jail or die for an animal when there are so many other things in the world that can be done for a good cause.
The rights that animals have all depend on their owners. For my 3rd grade birthday party, I took some of my friends horse back riding. While we were on the trail, the owner started beating one of the horses’ faces. It made me so upset to see that and we reported him right away. Animals should have rights but since they can’t talk it’s nearly impossible to give them rights. I agree with the rights that Amber made up but I can’t think of a way that they could be implemented since animals are taken care of in the privacy of your home. I wouldn’t go as far as to call myself an animal lover. I just really love my dog. How couldn’t you though? She’s adorable.
Currently I don’t have any pets of my own, but I used to have a black cat, until she was given to my uncle and she ran away; two doves that can’t fly, but got eaten by some animal outside; and fifteen to sixteen chickens who in the end got eaten. Of course I named them all something special, but I never really thought about how I chose their names. My sisters and I would randomly give our pets names and each animal would know and I guess learn to love it. Our black cat’s name was Tabbatha, she was a stray kitten when we found her, she was wandering around our swing set around March. Tabbatha wasn’t very shy, she just jumped into our arms and stayed with us while we fed her everyday. My dad was never really a fan of cats so he told us that we have to give her to our uncle. When we left her there and drove off she followed our car but couldn’t catch up, it was so sad, a couple of days later she ran away somewhere. Our two doves were given by our aunt, because during her wedding she planned on having them fly off at the end of church, but sadly they couldn’t fly. She gave them to us and we named them Snowy and Princy, in honor of Snow White and Prince Charming. Snowy was completely white and Princy had a bit of brown feathers on his head. They were so cute. Until one autumn day they both ran off, we called their names, but they never came back. Later we found a bunch of feathers in the backyard and a big fat cat sitting there glaring at us. There was only one situation we could’ve thought of, they got eaten.
My closes relationship with a pet would be with my pet chickens. My favorite rooster was the biggest and oldest one, Bobby. My family and I raised them since they were in their eggs trying to hatch inside a box in the oven. The oven wasn’t on, but the light was, and that kept them warm. When they hatched we counted each one and we would put them in a big box lined with newspapers and a tray of cooked rice and water. It was fun taking care of them when they were chicks, my sisters and I would put little name tags around their necks and watch them hop around in their box trying to fly. Once they grew up a bit they started to jump higher until they jumped completely out of the box. I remembered one of them would walk right up to me and I wouldn’t really mind much until I actually realized that it was out of the box. My mom decided to put them in a higher box and leave them in our outside room. They were peaceful, playful little chickens until we left for summer vacation in Wichita, Kansas. When we came back the chickens all grew more than 4 times their size and were big enough to raise themselves outside in the woods. My dad built a small chicken coop for them in the woods and we’d teach them to go in and out of it. That soon became their daily routine, going back to sleep in the coop at 5 or 6pm and wake up early at nearly 6am. But their lives ended when my uncle and aunt from France came down during Thanksgiving, I couldn’t bare it along with my sisters and we went into our rooms crying, but it was the fact of nature. I loved watching them while they roamed my yard, I remembered how they would come up to me when they were hungry and just stare into my eyes telling me they’re hungry. Yes I do believe that animals and humans can share a connection when we’ve both become very close to one another. The look in Bobby’s eyes before his death was heart breaking and it completely tore me. He looked like he was literally crying, imagine the strongest and bravest rooster in the bunch crying for his death and how I couldn’t help his plead. I felt guilty and ashamed.
Amber’s right, without activists compaigning for animal rights how would they stand up for themselves in a human community? They have special needs like humans, animals share the same lives as we do. I’m also happy that there are rules and rights for animals, like what Amber said, there are plenty of wackos who kill animals for fun. It’s called animal cruelty, just because they can’t protect themselves doesn’t mean that humans have the rights to torture and kill them. I feel so bad for animals sometimes that I want very much to be a vegetarian, but I really enjoy eating meat based products. I haven’t really taken to consideration to all those labels they put out for milk or eggs until I read, Am I Blue? It’s pretty sad knowing that those animals that are laying our eggs we eat for breakfast and the milk that’s provided for us to consumed aren’t treated with the upmost care to keep them happy. All these animal rights and rules are meant to be put up and get humans aware about all the harms we’ve done to our world and the things in it. Don’t get me started on the massive pollution that our earth has been suffering. It’s a shame now a days that humans can’t clean up after themselves. I mean, how hard is it to pick up a piece of trash that’s on the floor where you walk? And how about the gum you spit outside where innocent animals can eat up and choke? All these little worldly things can make a difference to our earth and the animals that live equally among us. Human’s can do so much to protect their pets as well as other animals living out in the world. It’s not that humans can’t, it’s just that they’re too busy to. We can take care of ourselves, but what’s there to worry about if someone else is already doing it? Sometimes I think that humans are amongst the laziest living creature out there. We need to help our world, even if it’s petting a dog.
Animal right have never been the highest topic on my list but like most people it is still a topic I will discuss from time to time when the moment is right. I have two dogs, both girls one is a Newfoundland named Sparky because when I was really young and we first got her my mom had bought us sparklers and me and my brother were playing with them in front of the window and she was barking at us so because of that we called her Sparky. She is black and white and is huge and one time she jumped on someone’s car and the woman driving the car thought Sparky was a bear.
My other dog is Shadow and she is a Rottweiler. She’s not mean at all though. My dad got her off of a farm in Virginia. She was named because we got her second and Sparky was so much bigger than her so she would always be in Sparky’s shadow and my dad would always joke about that. Shadow is black and brown.
Actually I have had an experience where I tried to save an animal but she ended up dying anyway. I found a kitten behind a pile a bricks in my back yard. I named her winter because her coat was speckled white and gray. We took care of her and also my dogs watched over her. One day though Winter wandered across the street and ate a poisonous mushroom and died.
I think that animals have rights but who is anyone to put a restrictions on the rights of an animal. If we really wanted to give animals true rights then we should put them back into their natural environment. Just like for the American revolution, the colonist didn’t want to be controlled by someone without a say.
Wolves are extremely close to dogs and for cats too, most animals, if you look at them in the wild are like a family and to a degree have their own government. If you want to give animals right then you should let them make things up for themselves.
This I for Brittany S’s blog I agree with her that just standing outside of the mall with picket signs isn’t really doing anything you have to get your hands dirty sometimes and make a stand on capital hill about your belief.
I have always been an animal lover, wait I will rephrase that I have always had love for animals. I say that because I’m not a die hard vegetarian and I don’t have a ton of animals or posters of horses and elephants on my wall. I do have a dog and from what I can remember I have always had at least one pet. The most pets I had at one time was a dog, two fish, and two guinea pigs. As of right now I have an all white pit bull with blue-gray eyes. We have had three pit bulls named Honey, Samson, and my current dog Atreides. It has always been hard growing up with pit bulls because they have such a bad rep but the truth is pit bulls are one of the best dogs to have they’re smart, family orientated, and make great pets. As far as Atreides is concerned his name was given to him by my father. Everyone even Tre hates his name. The name comes from the movie Doom the old version because his parents were named from the movie, therefore my Dad figured he would continue and name him Atreides.
As far as communication goes yes we can communicate with animals, as well as animals can communicate with us. Whenever my dog needs to go to the bathroom he stands near the back door, it must be like a universal sin because my last dog did the same thing. Also its easy to communicate with a dog they understand when we’re mad, happy, or upset. As far as animal activists I believe that they aren’t wasting their time the animal like amber said is different from the other “living organisms” they like us have emotions, yet no voice. So activists need to campaign for animals rights so that their voice can be heard.And just like anything with an emotion yes they should have rights. Limited rights yes, because I like to eat chicken, and cheeseburgers, and I couldn’t live without my sushi! Yet animals that are endangered or used for pets and for labor should have rights so they’re protected and not mistreated. One thing I do agree with is hunting; sorry Amber but we need hunters. Hunters help provide food for us as well as control the number of species we have like deer. Without hunters the deer population would increase and with less land or them to live and eat off of they would all die of hunger. Therefore hunters aren’t as bad as they seem.
Approximately two years ago, a small male West Highland Terrier dog was born. This little stud was one of two at the breeder’s house. How did we pick between two identical male dogs? It was very simple, believe it or not. Both of them were sleeping in the back corner and the future “Chase” got up and walked up to the gate and licked our hands. We knew that that would be the one we chose. The poor thing went without a name for about a week and a half before my dad and I took charge. We named him Chase after the Philadelphia Phillies second baseman, Chase Utley. People often ask whether or not animals can communicate with people. Chase is a perfect example that animals can communicate with people. After a couple of months Chase knew how to communicate with our family. When we would take him out to the bathroom he would always lead the way and he would even turn into the right driveway knowing it was ours. After he got older we began to teach him tricks. As of today he can sit, roll-over, stand-up, stay, pick-a-paw, speak, and faggy dog. (faggy dog is when he lifts his paw and lets it daggle in the air) So can animals communicate with people? The answer is yes.
When it comes to animal cruelty, I get very angry and upset. I give a lot of credit to the activists that spend hours campaigning for the rights of animals. One day their hard work will pay off and animals will be given fair rights. Animals should have rights to a certain extent. I strongly believe in survival of the fittest. I don’t believe that we should not eat chicken and steak because it comes from other animals. When people abuse animals and are cruel to them, I become very defensive. Dogs, cats, and any other type of animal should not be abused and tortured. Dog fighting and other animal abuse should not be taken lightly. What Michael Vick did and whoever was associated with it should not be tolerated. Making dogs fight until they bleed to death or are “torn apart” as ESPN put it, cannot not be allowed.
I couldn’t agree with Joanna Zowkowski anymore. Dogs should be given to those who can afford taking care of them. I hate when I see commercials that show pictures of dogs in run-down houses and have no meat on their bones because they are not properly fed. A good dog owner does not have to treat their pet as a royal prince. The pet should not be abused and should be given the proper necessities for a healthy life.
Bella, Max, and Duke are the loves of my life. Two year old Bella is a black and white tea cup Poodle and believes she is the queen of the household. She received her name after a long drive home from picking her out of a litter. Since Poodles are French, my brother mentioned Belle, but I thought of “Beauty and the Beast”, which isn’t my favorite Disney movie. So then we said, French is close enough to Italian, so Bella was a unanimous vote, even though my brother still calls Bella, Belle because he believes a French dog should have a French name, but her name is Bella, not Belle. Duke is a tri-colored English setter and he believes that he conquers all. My Dad grew up with English setters and each one of his setters was named Duke, so when we bought Duke, there was no doubt that his name would be any different. Max is a black Labrador retriever, who has a white spot in the center of his chest (Bella has one just like he does) and Max believes that he should not be bothered by a dog that looks like something he could swallow whole. Max received his name from my mom. After going to a private breeder, my mom already had names in mind, Max, Rex, and Todd. My mom says she always liked the name Max for a dogs name, so that’s how Max became Max.
All three of the dogs can understand the word “love”, because they all will give kisses when any one in our house, even guests, say the word “love”. They all hear the refrigerator open, and it’s like a stampede of buffalo running into the kitchen. When they hear the word “out”, it’s a crazy time trying to put on all the leashes and making sure that they all go out together and not separate. As a whole family, we give each dog the same amount of attention, unless Duke is in his, “I-do-what-I-want” moods and goes off and eats everything in sight that isn’t eatable and then comes into where the family is and wags his tail letting us know that he made the mess and is proud of it. I guess what I’m truly trying to say is that dogs can understand what we say and we can understand them as well. When they need to go for a walk, they bark at the door, or if they hear someone coming to the door, they let us know by barking, and if they are hungry, they will bring their dish to the door where the food is. Who said that words need to be spoken to communicate with one another?
When I’m sitting in my room studying, and any of the three dogs prance in, I usually take a minute or two to have a hug fest with them. It’s like a daily talk, but instead of talking, there is tons of petting going on, kisses that are being exchanged, and hugs that are being traded. Whenever I was upset, throughout my life, I’d always have a dog right by my side. There was never a day when my family was pet-less, so having the comfort of having mans best friend by my side made everything a little better.
Just to put this out there, I love steak, fish, burgers, chicken, and pork, basically anything besides turkey. If any one needs an extra mouth to feed because someone in their family does not like the meats listed above, I’d be willing to travel a distance for fine food. Now that is out of the way, I agree with Rachel that animals should have the same rights as humans, but they aren’t as important as humans. Animals shouldn’t be treated harshly; nothing in this world should be treated harshly. I do not believe that the animal rights activist should be worrying more about human rights, because we have enough politicians crying over dumb topics rather then big issues that deal with the American people directly. At least the activists aren’t sobbing over dumb little issues, but trying to save precious little lives that could make a family happy when they walk through their door and see a loving face standing there waiting for their arrival.
Certainly, pets do not need to have extravagant things to be considered important or worthy of rights. The infamous Paris Hilton is known to buy her dog’s diamond tennis bracelets, couture dog outfits, and the most expensive carrying cases for her dogs. I sometimes feel like I spoil my dogs by bringing them home little doggy dishes from restaurants, but heaven knows, Paris’s dogs get gourmet meals three times through out the day. There is a line that people cross, and Paris definitely is on the other side of the line by at least 500 miles. Pets are cherished but sometimes that’s all they need in order to know that their owners/best friends know that they love them.
This is definitely a very controversial topic, especially since the formation of PETA and the Michael Vick incident.
But, first things first. I do not have a pet nor do I want one. However, I love other people's pets. It's kind of weird, but I guess I don't feel like I need another responsibility or that I would be a very good pet owner.
Right now, some of you might be thinking, "Jake, you would make a great pet owner." Well, if that is true, then why does my sister's fish, Babaloo, always swim away when I tap on the glass? Or reach into the tank to pet him? And why does he like to swim upside-down so much?
But, seriously, I am kind of against what the whole animal rights movement has become. Sure, I don't think that animals should be killed or taken advantage of, but I hate animal rights groups, such as PETA, that are over the edge in getting their points across. I mean, is it really necessary to ruin someone’s mink coat in order to say that killing an animal for style purposes is wrong? And it really doesn’t make sense to do. First, the animal was already dead when the person bought the coat. It’s not like they shot and skinned the mink themselves. And wouldn’t the person just buy a new coat if the old one were ruined? It just doesn’t make sense.
Additionally, I hate it when people dress up their pets like they're their kids. Or talk about their pets like they're their kids. Don't get me wrong here. Animals are cute and all that jazz, but they are still animals. As Brittany stated, they should have rights, but it is something that is hard to put a finger on. Clearly, they shouldn’t have the same rights as humans (imagine going to court with your dog for improper searches and seizures of his chew toy). But they also can’t have absolutely no rights, or else sickos like Michael Vick would be drowning and fighting dogs all over the place. So, I guess the answer to that question is somewhere along that fine line between the two.
Very thought-provoking, I must say. My brain is hurting right now.
I LOVE animals. I have three cats, a dog, and a horse, and I have no idea what I would do if I didn't have pets. Actually, I do. I wouldn't be happy. My animals enrich my life, make me laugh, and make me a better person. Here's a rundown of the Brill family's animals: We have three boy cats - Tom, Oliver, and Petey. We got Tom when I was 7. He wandered up to our porch, a lovable, approximately 1 year old kitten, who purred and trilled when I pet him and rolled over on his back. Naturally, 7 year old me assumed he wanted his belly rubbed, so I did so, and he promptly bit me. Of course I ran in the house screaming about the evil cat outside and actually wrote a story about it in Language Arts that I illustrated with a cat with fangs. We already had three cats at the time, Hudson, Sam, and Lily (and I hope Joanna is reading this, because she knows all of these cats), three old, sweet (except for Sam, she was freaking crazy from day 1), matronly (again, except for Insane Sam) girls. We had no need for this deceptively lovable intruder. However, he made his presence felt again when he showed up on our porch, poor thing, cut up and bleeding from his back to his butt. He had been attacked by a vicious, older stray. It was clear the life of a vagabond did not suit him, so after paying $500 to patch him up and return him to his prior condition, we gave him a home and called him Tom. It is not, contrary to my grandmother's popular belief, short for Thomas O'Malley, just like Sam was not short for Samantha. She was just Sam. I think she was named after a baseball player, but anyway, she was never feminine or sane enough to be called Samantha. Her name was Sam.
I loved cats when I was little. I was a cat person (and still am, proud to say - a cat and horse person) and displayed it in every aspect of my life. I wore little cat shirts, I had a kitty watch, I had a cat collection that is still proudly displayed in my room (I am lovingly gazing at it now). We had four cats when I was in 4th grade - Hudson, Sam, Lily, and Tom - but they were family cats, and I wanted my OWN cat. So my mom agreed, and it was off to my friend Emily Ramirez's, whose cat had just conveniently had kittens that they were giving away, to pick out my very own kitten. I still remember how ecstatic I was in that moment - finally, to have my OWN cat! After making up my mind with a feisty girl named Dana, I fell in love with my future cat - Pumpkin. He was an orange tabby with the softest brown eyes. He was very timid, shy, and sweet. I immediately changed my mind. (Sorry, Dana.) So we brought home Pumpkin, and to my extreme joy, we had a fifth cat.
All was not hunky-dory for long. Well, actually, it was. That was a very dramatic statement. In fact, everything went extremely well with Pumpkin, and we had him for five years. BUT THEN (DUM DUM DUM), tragedy struck. It struck in the form of sudden cardiac arrest, sending the greivous Pumpkin into convulsions of pain and me into convulsions of terror. We rushed him to the hospital (okay, the animal hospital) and demanded a diagnosis. The doctor told us in the expression one would tell a person with six weeks to live that Pumpkin had a hole in his heart. There is no way we could have known about it as it would not have come up on any scans should we have needed one (and we never did, besides being a baby when it came to shots Pumpkin never had any problems). The hole in his heart had suddenly erupted and it was causing his organs to shut down. We needed to say goodbye. That was one of the single hardest things I've had to do in my life, but now I thank God that it happened the way it did, because if we hadn't found Pumpkin, or if he hadn't had his heart eruption when we were home, he would have died a long and agonizing death instead of a short and painless one. Afterward, I was in denial about the whole thing, and by the time I finally came to grips with it, I was happy how it all came to happen (diagnosis: he was going to die anyway, and eventually, it was just a matter of how long, painful, and drawn-out it was going to be, and it was very expedient, if I do say so myself, and we even got to say a proper goodbye.)
This blog is getting out of control with length so I will condense the stories of my other pets: we found Petey in an abandoned boat (again, long story but I do not really have words to tell it, I still need to give my opinion response which is what this blog is about anyway, not so I can just spout off random stories about my pets which is what I have been doing) when he was about 2 weeks old, and we had to bottle-nurse him with a kitten milk formula we prepared from a recipe on the stove (equal parts milk, water, and a little bit of Karo syrup, heated till there's a skin) and we fed it to him through a medicine dropper. After having Petey for several months he grew up somewhat and got crazy (Sam-like in his craziness), and we decided to get him a friend, which was honestly the best decision I have ever made in my life because Oliver is the sweetest cat IN THE WORLD. He's a white lil schmutzball. Actually he is quite pudgy.
Hattie (dog) - who cares. She's like 6, she has epilepsy (long funny stories can come from that. Ha ha ha - ask me if you really want to know because I don't have words to spare on them in this already-exorbitant blog entry). I don't much like her at present as she is licking herself on my bed and making wet spots. Ask me on a day she is not doing that and perhaps I will give a better account of her, but today if you asked me I would tell you she is an incompetent, epileptic spaz with no manners or charm in the least. (She's not really like that, I just hate her right now)
Madison! My horse. The love of my life, pretty much. Again, long stories, for another blog. Started riding when I was 10, got her when I was 12, best decision I could have made. She has totally taken care of me for 4 years, and she is awesome, with everything. I can do everything with her and not be afraid. If you have a scary horse and want to jump, let me tell you, it is NOT happening.
Okay! Now we are to the meat of this blog, the actual response! If you're still with me, Ms. Bunje! Considering you are grading this, and as of now, you are probably like, "What the hell is she thinking? I don't care about her damn animals! Get to the blog answer!" Well, here it is. I 100% believe animals can communicate. Especially Madison, the horse. I really had a special connection to Angelou's Am I Blue? because i have horses of my own and could relate to that exact situation. Horses are expert communicators, and they feel just as deeply if not more so than humans. How could you look into any animal's large expressive eyes, or small inquisitive ones, and think that they do not have emotions? They communicate with us every day, whether in subtle mannerisms or all-out defiance or acts of love. Sometimes we are just too absorbed in ourselves to see it. Another thing I think we (as humans, not as a class - we are a perfectly aware and empathetic class) are closing our minds to is the fact that animals have as much right to be here as we do, and have as many rights as we do. And, let's not nit-pick here. I am talking about the natural rights we should all enjoy - to be treated fairly, to express ourselves, to have a happy and healthy life. I absolutely do not think animal rights agencies are wasting their time, but I will say this. A paradox, if you will. I subscribed to newsletters from the ASPCA because I do love animals. But I think I did it for as much selfish reasons as any other. I was like, "Ooh. I'm conscious. I'm subscribing for newsletters from the ASPCA." I realized this a bit when I signed up, a bit more when I recieved the letters, and a bit more when I deleted them all without reading them. I ended up unsubscribing because their constant badgering got annoying. Just thought it might raise some interesting philosophical points. So, to answer that question, I think some animal-rights activists are a bit self-righteous, but at the core of what they are doing is good. Example: when they go to fashion shows and throw pies at models with fur and such. Those animals are already dead! You will not bring them back to life by throwing pastries at the models! But yet, you have to say, at the root of that is good.
Response to another blog (in case I have not covered that already): Haley, I am down with what you said about hunting. My Popi and my dad hunt, and I had a hard time coming to terms with that as a child. I was always like, "Daddy, why do you kill the ducks?" He explained it to me many times, and I eventually understood. Although I wouldn't do it myself for the simple fact I don't like to see things die, I completely understand and respect the reasons for hunting and I know it's not bloodthirsty or evil or anything. It is actually key, as my dad explained to me, in the survival of the deer population as a whole over the winter.
Anybody who's still with me (that includes you Ms. Bunje!), thank you! :)
To be honest I’ve gone through many pets, from geckos to dogs and I loved them all! Each one of my pets have had there own personalities and they were all special in their own ways. I am an animal lover and I always will be, but I do admit that at times the novelty of my pets did ware off. Just recently my boyfriend and I purchased a puggle. Toby, our dog, is the love of my life and I honestly would die without him. Unlike most of my previous animals Toby is unique; he has a personality that could light up an entire room. Since he is still a puppy he has a long way to go when it comes to completely understanding what’s right and wrong. Although I do believe animals do know how to communicate. They may not be able to understand sentences but they do understand simple commands like come, sit, or bad boy. For a while, like any puppy, Toby had a problem with peeing in the house, but now he understands that that’s the wrong thing to do. For example there was a time when I was getting ready for school and he was sitting behind me, I heard a strange water noise and looked back, it was Toby peeing! He knew what he was doing was wrong because he looked up at me with his big brown eyes and ran. Alls I could do was laugh because that proved to me that he knew he wasn’t allowed to pee in the house. I also think dogs understand emotions, like when I’m sad he comforts me and lays down next to me and when I’m happy so is Toby. Dogs are like people, they require a lot of attention and care and like humans if they are neglected of that care they will rebel. Toby is a lucky dog and gets a lot of attention, so much that he thinks he’s a person. Most would disagree, but I can’t lock Toby in a cage a night so I let him sleep with me. Toby will climb into bed and lay his head on the pillow, on his side, and sleep just like a human would. He is my best friend and is a great listener mostly because he doesn’t talk back. Like I stated previously animals are like people and have rights just like people. They have the right to sleep comfortably, to be taken care of and not neglected, and most of all they have the right to be treated like a person. I know if I were a dog I would like to do the same things that my owner does. Instead of locking him in a cage I take Toby every where I go, if possible. Would you like to be locked in a cage while mommy and daddy get to have their fun? Probably not. There is no limit to how an animal should be cared for or what an animal should get. If an individual is not ready to give up their time and care for an animal then they shouldn’t own one. It’s not right to neglect a child and it’s not right to neglect an animal either. Regardless of their species animals are just like humans and should be treated as so. Toby is my baby; he’s like my child and will always be treated that way. Animals may not have the characteristics of a human but they have their own special characteristics, which ultimately are better! All in all this is an extremely controversial topic and everyone is entitled to their own opinions but until you walk in another’s shoes you won’t fully understand the topic that is being discussed.
As for Jake’s comment, which mad me laugh, there are so many reasons why the fish swims away from him but that’s beside the point because he would be a wonderful pet owner, although I have to disagree with his opinions about PETA and the actions their taking on animals rights. Even though I am not a vegetarian and can also be considered as a hypocrite I believe that no animal whether dead or alive should be skinned of their fur for fashion reasons. It’d be one thing if the animal’s fur were being used for shelter, clothing, or any articles that are being used to survive, but that is not the case in today’s society. It seems like fame drives people to buy expensive things, a luxurious car is one thing but it’s funny to see Paris Hilton carry her dog around as she’s wearing her new fur coat. Wearing a fur coat or making dogs fight just, it’s all just for personal gain. Cruelty to animals is just wrong in general!
I have a enormous golden/laboratory retriever mix. His official name is Buddy, but we call him Mister; a short hand of Mr. Buddy, which used to be his old name. The name Buddy is a common name for a dog, but when my step-sister named him that I was upset for weeks. I thought naming him was going to be half the fun. I thought his name should have been completely unique. She came up with the tritest names ever.
Buddy weighs around 170 pounds. His barks are fierce, his muscles are strong and his teeth are sharp. However, under it all, you can tell he is one of the friendliest dogs you will ever meet. He will lay with you and watch a movie. His favorite movie is Mighty Ducks. I know this because he actually watches the television throughout the movie, and while he might not understand the movie I can tell he likes it. I feel this is a perfect way of being able to communicate with him. Obviously every animal will know if you are mad at it. It will know when you yell or shoo it away; that is instinct. But when I watch Mighty Ducks with my dog, I feel a connection. I have watched the movie countless times with him.
Activists, such as devout members of PETA, waste their time campaigning for the rights of animals. I believe so for two reasons, you can find all kinds of evidence of PETA abusing and murdering animals. Also, for people who become completely vegan to “save the animals” are out of their mind. One person in 300 million will not make a difference. 1% of the US population is assumed to be vegan. That is not enough to cut back on the slaughter of animals.
However, besides PETA extremists, I do believe that animals deserve rights. They have every right to be alive. They have every right to be treated fairly. They don’t even ask for much. They want nourishment and companionship. Maybe there are too many animals then there is needed. They still deserve to live in a healthy environment.
I disagree with Haley’s view on animal’s rights. We do not need more activists, because I believe that everyone seems to understand what is wrong and what is right when it comes to their rights. Everyone knows that Michael Vick’s actions were messed up. Everyone sort of have this preset idea of what is right and wrong. Animals rights are, on my list, one of the lesser things we need to worry about as a society.
I used to have a dog named Taz. He was a Doberman and grew up with me. My mom and dad got him as a puppy when I was little. I think my dad picked out the name “Taz”. The first thing people think of when they see a 150 pound Doberman named Taz is that he is mean. A lot of people probably thought of The Tasmanian Devil. Taz was nothing like that. He was the sweetest dog ever and acted just like a person. I could tell when he was sad, scared, alone, excited, and hungry. He would whine and bark to express his feelings. He could make sad faces and happy faces. Whenever my family came home from somewhere, he would pull up his lips in the front and smile. He would run and hide when it thundered and this showed that he was scared. He would eat sticks to show his intellectually was probably not that smart. He would nudge me when he wanted to be petted and whine at the door when he had to go outside and pee. I could definitely tell that he had feelings and he had his own way of expressing what he felt.
My take on the activists that spend hours campaigning for the rights of animals is probably not as good as it should be just because I wouldn’t spend my time doing that. It just doesn’t interest me. I think that it is good that some people stand up for the rights of animals. Some people just take it too far though. When I went to the circus a couple months ago, animal rights activists spent days standing on the corner trying to express how cruel the circus was to the tigers and elephants. The activists say that they should be running free in the jungle. Some people probably agree with this. Some people don’t. I, myself think that if they never knew the jungle life, they don’t know what their missing and if they were placed in the jungle, they probably wouldn’t survive.
True animal cruelty is when animals are beaten or starved. Dog fighting and clubbing seals are both examples of what animal activists should be protesting against. Dog fighting is happening everyday in regular communities like the one we live in. An example of a problem that is on the rise and being looked at by many animal activists is the clubbing of baby seals. Animals should have rights like humans. We are all living, breathing things with feelings and emotions.
I commented on Niah’s blog when she said, “I have always been an animal lover, wait I will rephrase that I have always had love for animals. I say that because I’m not a die hard vegetarian and I don’t have a ton of animals or posters of horses and elephants on my wall.” This is the same with me. I like animals but wouldn’t stop eating juicy hamburgers and chicken nuggets. Steaks are the best with A-1 sauce. I don’t think I could ever be a vegetarian but this doesn’t mean I don’t care about animals… does it?
I currently have a dog and a gecko. Let’s start with the dog first. My dog, Buddy, is a Jack Russell Terrier. We got Buddy on Christmas of 2001. My sister named our dog. She was into this cartoon, that had the same dog on the show, and she called him that from the start, so it just stuck, and that became his name. As for the gecko, he is an African fat-tail. He is the coolest little pet. His name is Gary. My brother named him Gary because of the snail on his favorite show, Sponge Bob Square pants. So I guess if we get a new pet I will get to name it, though I don’t watch too much television so their name probably won’t come from that. Lol. Communication from people to animals and animals to people is something that is funny to me. I do believe that animals do understand us, and we to an extent understand them. When we teach our pets tricks they understand and communicate or react to the hand gesture or action we give them. That to me is a sign of communication. As for people, I know that when my dog whines or sits near the door he has to go to the bathroom or when he barks ridiculously, there is someone or something near the house that to him shouldn’t be there. One of the funniest way I communicate with my dog is through food and ice cubes. When I go over to the fever and he hears the ice he comes running and puts his paw out, asking for an ice cube in return. The funniest part of it all is when I open one of those individual rapped packages of cheese, he hears the wrappers and comes running again. It is hilarious. I for one am not a vegetarian and not necessarily believe in all that animals’ rights mumbo jumbo. Like Ms. Bunje I too feel bad and take offense to people or treat animals wrongly. The worst of it all that really got to me was the whole Michael Vick thing. That blew my mind and I couldn’t believe what he did to those poor dogs. I believe they are wasting their time because eating meat is part of the whole food chain thing and something that is required to live a happy healthy life. It gives you protein. I am not against vegetarians because it is their own beliefs just like people have different religions. Though I don’t mind the animal activist’s people, I do believe they are wasting their time. It is part of the food chain. Ok, now I do believe animals should have rights, stopping abuse and mistreatment, but some people take it too far. I think it is ridiculous when people dress their dogs, or give them “special treatment” and treat them like people. Those people to me are a little weird. They are taking animal rights to an extreme level. Some rules or rights I do believe they should have is that the people who buy the dog or any animal should have their house inspected in order to make sure the animal will be taken care of properly. I also agree with Joanna that they should be able to support the animal financially before they can buy it. Animals are expensive, and cost tons of money, from food, to vet bills. Don’t buy animals if you can’t take care of them or support them!! I cannot stand people who have pets but it’s like they don’t even exist. No pet deserves to be treated like that.
In the span of my life so far, my family has only ever owned one dog, and three goldfish. Our dog was named Butchie after the man who gave my parents the dog. When I was born, Butchie was three years old in human years. I don’t remember precisely, but my mom said that I got along with him well. He would lick my face and I would laugh. If a dog jumped up on me and started licking my face now, I might be scared, but I think that children have a natural proclivity towards animals at such a young age because we aren’t civilized yet and our behaviors are much like theirs. My mom also told me that when I was an infant, Butchie wasn’t allowed in the living room where I played because she didn’t want me to be covered with dog hair and lay on the same floor he did. So, Butchie would lie on the floor in our kitchen, the room connected to the living room, with his paws in the living room, almost as if he were testing his limits with my mom. I believe that this was definitely one of his ways of communication. My mom would then say, “Get back out of the living room. You know you aren’t supposed to be in here”. He would then back up just a little. If this isn’t communication, than what is? As I said before, I don’t remember much about Butchie, but when he finally died I was really sad for a five year old that I lost this furry friend. This emotion is proof of our communication.
My goldfish were a different story. At first I had a single goldfish named Fred. Fred the fish. He was, well…a goldfish. Maybe it’s the fact that goldfish have tiny brains or their confinement to a small bowl that make them boring and lack personality. (If anyone has had a fun, interesting goldfish please tell me because I have never heard of such a thing.) After he died I got two more goldfish. I took it upon myself to pronounce that they were actually twins and named them Phil and Lil (yes, after the Rugrats). The tragic death of Phil came upon one day when I was playing outside and heard my mom scream. I rushed inside and she informed me that she found Phil lying on the counter, dead. I guess he felt like breaking out and exploring the world. Too bad he didn’t get very far. After that little incident, I was pretty much done with fish.
As for the activists that spend hours campaigning for the rights of animals, I do not think that they are wasting their time. I say that if you believe in something strongly, there is not reason why you should not go out and try to make a difference. But I see where Jake is coming from when he was talking about fur coats and such. I guess some people go overboard on this whole animal rights thing. I think they should keep in mind that they shouldn’t inflict any more violence upon others than the violence they wouldn’t want inflicted upon animals. Obviously, these people feel the need to protect animals. Other people feel the need to help humans. Only fight for the cause that you strongly believe in. The passion you have may affect other people that see you campaigning and make them think about what their views are.
When I hear about the heinous but customary procedures that are forced upon helpless cows, chickens, and other animals to supply our food it makes me sick. In this day and age, cruelty is accepted for a more speedy and convenient process of previously time-consuming processes. However, I am not a vegetarian either. I believe that God put animals on the earth for us to eat and use so that we get the proper nourishment, but there is a line, and I’m pretty sure certain animal food companies have crossed it. Animals should have certain rights. They should have the right to not be mutilated and pumped up with chemicals chosen to “enhance” our nutritional diets. They are basically feeding drugs to us. What ever happened to natural? Now we have nutrition bars, energy bars, power gels, enhanced chickens…what’s next, vitamin infused vegetables? We already have all the vitamins and minerals we need if we just use the earth for what it has to offer naturally (sorry for going a little bit off topic). So basically, animals should have the right to be treated the right way. There should not be any beating of animals, keeping them locked up in tiny spaces 24/7, or any other violent acts. But bubble baths and manicures, on the other hand, are a little beyond the limit.
Over the years, I have only had two pets. Both of them were dogs. Unfortunately, my first dog, which was a Beddlington Terrior, passed away after only owning her for a little over a year. I don't really want to go into detail since i usually have a hard time explaining what happened. Her name was Georgia. I didn't really agree with the name, but my mom picked it out. My second dog, also a Beddlinngton Terrior, however has been living with me for about five or six years I think. It's been a while. His name is Alfie, but i call him Fred. Once again, I didn't really approve of the name, but the previous owners had already named him. I was really close with my Georgia because she was my first pet ever. She was the nicest dog ever and I really miss her. Fred, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. He barks all of the time and isn't always nice. He's usually nice to me, but not to anyone outside of my family. Well, he is nice, but when you act scared around him, he notices it and continuely barks at people. I laugh usually when this happens, but I end up having to put my dog in his crate. I don't like putting my dog in his crate.
After living with Fred for so long, I feel like i can communicate with him. Also, i feel like he can communicate with me. He listens to me, usually, when i tell him to sit, lay down, etc. Sometimes, when he barks, I usually can figure out what he wants. If he barks in the kitchen, he either wants food or water. If he barks near a door, he wants to go outside. It's pretty simple to figure out, except when he starts randomly barking. It's really annoying when i can't figure out what he wants, becasue he never stops barking. But, i guess that's just his way of trying to communicate with me.
In the past, I usually thought that animal activists were weird. To me i thought that what they were doing was pointless. I especially disliked PETA, or whatever they called it. They weren't gonna stop me from eating prime rib by putting stickers of dead animals on the wall next to the Taco Bell in the mall. It made me not want to eat for a few minutes, but i got over it when i saw my chicken quesadilla and with an extra soft taco. But after watching Falcon TV this morning, with the seals being hunted, I realized that animals live and die just like humans. When someone kills another human, they go to jail. But if a human kills a defenseless animal, they are able to skin them and use their fur with no consequences. They are taking away their right to live. So I guess i'm saying that i think that animals have rights and they should be protected. However, I really like steak and chicken. It's sort-of like a catch 22. So, if animals have to be killed, they should be put to rest humanely rather than violently and inhumanely. Overall, animals should have rights, but when it comes down to food, there are a few exceptions.
I Alexander Peralejo do have a pet. I have a pet snake named Gnarls. Just Gnarls. I didn’t get to choose his name, my brother Armando did though. I think Gnarls is an amazing name for our family’s snake, even though my parents disapprove. Of course I communicate to Gnarls; it’s called Parsel Tongue, my best friend Harry Potter taught me. I don’t think Gnarls understands me at all unless I have a mouse in my hand. Haha. It does communicate with me in body language. Like if it wants food it’ll try to escape or move more often then usual. When its scared or excited it’ll squirm so quickly. If it is comfortable on on you it’ll rap up on your hand or body. Gnarls isn’t that big though, its just the size of Cassandra. J.k. It’s about my arm length plus. I am pro-animal activists. I respect those who fight for animal right. Although the animal activists are having a hard time, I don’t think it is a waste of time. I always believed you have the right to fight or protest what you want to protest for. I believe animal activist are preserving this world. They are trying to protect all animals. They are trying to save these animals from being endangered or extinct. Without animals this world would be much more difficult. BECAUSE I LOVE EATING MEAT!! GO ANIMAL ACTIVISTS!!! Personally I would not become an animal activist. I believe in general that animals don’t have rights. We don’t eat animals just to eat them. I believe animals were put onto this world to help humans survive. Without animals being a major food supply, we would have not gotten many nutrients from meats, such as protein and calcium. Our bones would lack calcium and protein, therefore making our bones more susceptible to break. I’m just like and agree with Bunje; I love eating meat, believe that animal activist are not wasting their time, do agree that animals should not be harmed. In all, I do believe that the animal activists are doing the right thing. I just think animals were put on this earth for another reason. NO ONE JUDGE ME!!!! I love my pet gnarls and believe it is slowly making its way into the family. We just got it. I love it sooo muchhh, it’s awesome!! I just needed eight more words, so yeah.
I don’t have any pets right now, unless dust bunnies count. I have had a bunch though. I had a dog named Rusty, a bunny named Licorice, a hamster named Cinnamon and four fish. My dog was cocker spaniel and my bunny was a dwarf. My pets were all named after their color. I didn’t name my bunny because we adopted her and we liked the name. I really don’t know why I named all of my animals after their colors. My dog, Rusty, was from a breeder, who called him Barney. Of course that name wouldn’t due, so we gave him a different name before we got him. My parents suggested the names Rusty, because of his color, and Tracker, because my dad likes hunting and wanted to bring the dog with him. I wouldn’t stand for a dog named Tracker, so I stood behind the name Rusty. I think my pets could generally communicate what they needed and how they were feeling. They had certain behaviors for when they were hungry, tired, scared, excited, comfortable, etc. The bigger the animal, the more they expressed these feelings. I rarely saw it in my fish, but I saw it a lot in my dog. When my mom was upset, my dog would often go and lay with her, and when he was upset, he’d go find somebody who’d pet him. One time when my brother yelled at my dog, he came downstairs and jumped on me until I pet him, and then he sat directly on my lap. He wasn’t a lap dog, so when he sat on me like that I knew he was upset about something. I think animals do have rights, and activists aren’t completely wasting their time. However, generally speaking I think that a human life should come before an animal’s. I think animals should be treated better, and maybe you should have to learn certain things about your pet before you get it. I don’t think that much more is really needed for animals, except maybe stronger punishments for animal cruelty. I agree with Emily C. that “animals should have the right to be treated the right way. There should not be any beating of animals, keeping them locked up in tiny spaces 24/7, or any other violent acts. But bubble baths and manicures, on the other hand, are a little beyond the limit.” Animals deserve to be healthy and happy and free from abuse.
To answer the first few questions, yes, I do have a pet or pets actually. Our family at my dad’s house consists of a girl dog, named Maxine (Max for short) and a girl cat named Stormy, she is really my Step-mom’s cat, but I will delve into my opinions about that in a minute. At my mom’s place, our roommates have a female dog as well, her name is Poe, and a male cat named Christopher Walken. Although, I do not “own” these animals, I feel as though people “own” animals as much as they “own” their children. They are my pets and friends just as much as anyone else’s. I do think that animals can love, trust, and feel just as much as people can, but I know that they lack the intelligence of humans because, obviously, our world isn’t run by dogs, cats, hamsters, gold fish, ect.
Maxine is the pet that I have known the longest. She is a “pure-bred mutt”, as my dad likes to call her, and has been a part of our family for about 11 years. She is black with lots of grey fur scattered in between the black, she has short ears, a long tail, and her fur always looks scruffy no matter how much we brush it or clean it. Maxine was a bit trouble some as a puppy (which I thought was amusing as a child). When we got her, I was actually the one to name her. I was around 5 years old and I’m not sure why, but I thought the name Max was nice. My older sister wanted to call her Pepper because, even as a puppy, she had some flecks of gray fur. I argued that Pepper was a seasoning and our dog deserved a name that could belong to a person. She retaliated with the argument that Max was a boy’s name, so I said “Well, then lets call her Max-INE!” Adding the I-N-E was what my mind thought to be feminine. My parents laughed and agreed with me, so Maxine it was. Maxine grew to be a gentle dog, she barked at strangers, and bit this one man on a bike who kicked his leg out at her, but that was about the worst of it. She loved to play with me and my brothers and sisters, and you could tell when she was really happy because her eyes would have this sparkle in them, her ears would perk up, and her mouth, though always pointed, looked as if it was smiling. She is getting old now and likes to sit around the house a lot, but when I take her for walks, we run in the field down the street from my house, and she gets very excited and likes to race me back to our house.
Stormy on the other hand was added to our family about three years ago. My step-mom brought her home and named her Stormy due to her fluffy (I would even call it massive) grey fur that resembled (to her anyway) a storm cloud. My step-mom is not the nicest of people in my life and in fact, when she moved in, she treated Maxine poorly and adopted Stormy because she felt she needed a pet that was “her own.” Stormy is an adorable, playful, and affectionate cat. She likes to sunbathe on my bed (which is next to a window) in the afternoon, and she likes to cuddle with us kids at night. Stormy has hissed only once, that I can remember and that was due to her and Maxine getting carried away with their playing, which doesn’t happen often at all. The two get along remarkably well. I have never told my step-mom this, but as much as she likes to think Stormy belongs to her, I think that Stormy, like Maxine, has developed an attachment to everyone who lives in our house. To me, if you truly show love for an animal, they will love you back.
As far as the other animals at my mom’s house, Poe is a boxer and she has the most character that I have ever seen in any dog, in my life. Her wrinkled face twists into smiles when she gets taken for walks, it morphs into frowns when a loud noise sounds (she really is such a baby), and she has the saddest eyes, especially when she begs for table scraps. Poe sits by the door when she wants to go outside, she literally throws her bowl around when she wants water, and whimpers when people leave her alone in the house for too long. Poe sleeps with Brooke and Damian (our roommates), in bed with them. Brooke is a big dog lover and considers Poe to be the real owner of the house. Damian says Poe is spoiled, but none of us, including Damian, really have a problem with treating Poe the best. She is a well behaved, lovable, and often funny boxer. How can any of us say no to her soggy face or her big eyes filled with sorrow or her nub of a tail that shakes rapidly. Christopher Walken is not treated as well as Poe, probably because he used to pee everywhere and he sheds a lot, but he, like Stormy is a cat that loves to cuddle. Christopher Walken passes the time by sleeping and getting as close to the ceiling as possible, via cabinets and shelves. Brooke’s pets got their names because she admires the actor, Christopher Walken, and she likes Edgar Allen Poe as well as the police, or “the Po-po.” All of these animals love us because as I said before, my family treats them with respect and affection, so they have developed a trust and an attachment to us.
As far as the rights of animals go, I feel that animal activists are right when they fight for the rights of animals. Just because animals aren’t as intellectual as people, doesn’t mean they can’t feel. Ghandi was telling the truth when he said a country’s moral progress can be judged by how well its animals are treated. Animals don’t ask for much at all and if people took the time to help all the animals out, it would actually help the human race just as much. For animals to happy, they need a vast natural habitat to run around and feed in, they need companions to multiply with, and if they are domestic animals, they need someone who will provide them with food and comfortable living spaces. Animal activists protest against those who cut down forests and cause pollution, against farmers who keep animals cramped into a disease ridden box, and against people who use and abuse animals for entertainment or for their own personal issues. I whole heartedly feel as though these protesters are completely right to oppose what people do to animals. But, to put a different perspective on these issues, let’s say you are the kind of person who doesn’t care about animals. If this is the case, you should still agree with the fact that pollution and the demolition of forests is killing the world just as much as it’s killing the animals. If this is the case, you should know that diseased animals and weakened animals are fed many drugs and hormones that are affecting the growth and health of people living in America as well. As far as animal abuse goes, just think, if someone is abusing an animal in their home, they could end up abusing their children or others as well. Ultimately, whether you care for animals or not, helping animals would make things better not just for them, but for the environment and the people of the area.
I am a vegetarian and I have been one for almost 3 years. As a child I didn’t really like the taste of meat. My dad actually hunts deer for sport. He took me out with him once and I actually killed a deer. As soon as the bullet left my rifle, I saw the look on that deer’s face. It was the most fearful face I had ever seen. The ears perked up, the nostrils flared, and then, this creature of nature fell down. It felt as though I had been shot as well and I felt I truly connected with that animal is its last second of life. I then proceeded to gut this deer. I have no trouble with dissecting animals and all that, I actually think anatomy and all that is interesting, but when I flipped the dead animal over I saw that this deer was a boy, a boy with almost invisible nubs on his head and no spots on the brown of his fur. I had killed a baby. This made me feel all the more guilty and that night I cried. Over the course of the next few weeks I skinned this deer, I cut up his muscles, and I turned him into delicious deer jerky to feel to everyone. I gave his fur to my dad’s friend so that he could add this fur to other furs he had gotten, my dad’s friend made a blanket out of my deer. The bones were given to my dog, and his tail was turned into fishing lures for my older sister who loved to fly fish. It was very important to me that nothing was left of this deer. I shot him and I didn’t want this act of murder to be a waste. After my deer was taken care of, I vowed never to hunt or eat meat again. Killing animals for food was done in the past for people to survive, there really isn’t a need to go out and shoot things today. Although I think it is sick that my dad does it and I have done it, I don’t love him any less, I respect his decisions and opinions and he respects mine.
I have much reverence and admiration for animals and their rights. This may sound very hippie-ish but we are all sharing this earth and I believe every creature on earth should do the best they can to get along, take care of each other, and live contentedly together in the little time that we spend on this earth. Obviously it’s not that simple, but treating animals poorly isn’t going to make the world a happier place.
I have two dogs: Maggie and Rosie. I didn’t get to pick any names. I was only in the 3rd grade and no one in my family cared about my opinions. Maggie is a mix of different kind of labs. Rosie is little white bichon. I love them both to death! Maggie is actually lying right under my feet right now! AWW! =)!! Okay, moving on. I believe wholeheartedly in the idea that animals have personalities and are capable of possessing humanlike emotions. My dogs have completely different personalities. Maggie is athletic, energetic, and smart. She’s always so happy to see my family and me when we get home. Rosie on the other hand only cares about us when she’s looking for somewhere to sleep at night. (Usually she ends up in my bed!) She’s a snob. She walks around and acts like she’s tough as if she isn’t fat and a foot tall. She even try’s to start fights with Maggie! Maggie could eat her in two bites. The two of them are like sisters though. Sometimes we take Rosie to Petsmart to get groomed and whole time she’s gone Maggie sits by the back door and cries until she comes back. How could an animal get so upset when their friend gets taken away if they didn’t have emotions?
I think I can communicate with my dogs. I’m not sure that they know exactly what I’m saying when I talk to them; however, I believe they can recognize the sounds we make while talking or in other instances. I’m not too sure Rosie understands what’s going on. (She’s a bit slow) Maggie definitely understands though. She can pick up on when I’m really happy with her and she knows when I’m mad. If she’s doing something bad all I have to do is make eye contact with her and she’ll stop. It’s like she’s a little kid! I think animals have their own way of communicating with humans. For example, when I’m sitting on the sofa and Maggie comes up to me with a softball in her mouth and nudges my arm. That’s her way of getting me to play. There have actually been times where she’ll drop her toy on top of my homework books to get my attention. Or, for example, Rosie starts pushing her water bowl toward me while I’m in the kitchen.
I’m going to talk for a minute about the best dog in the world, Jasmine. She died my freshman year at fourteen. She’s still my favorite animal I’ve ever met. She was a golden retriever. (This, by the way, will be the first type of dog I get.) Before my family got Maggie and Rosie we had Jasmine and another dog named Ollie. When Ollie died when I was in second grade Jasmine was all alone for a little while after having had a friend for years. She was so depressed. She would just lie around all day, when normally she was very energetic. She barely ate, too. We all knew she was lonely and that’s when we got Maggie.
Animal activist are not in any way wasting their time. First off, anyone who is fighting for what they believe in isn’t wasting their time. But, I suppose that isn’t the point. Animals do have rights, but they are not nearly as protected as they should be. I don’t even want to know how many animals are abused in this world. The people fighting for animal’s protection and rights are only speaking for the animals that cannot communicate with humans in an effective way. They are the animals’ voices. I don’t think the rights of animals should be limited. Some people think more highly of animals than on people! I think animals deserve rights and protection from the horrible people who want to harm them.
In Response to Zander’s post I have to say that animal’s only purpose is not to be eaten!! That’s so sad! Yes I know they are an important part of the human diet and so on. But, animals are so important to the well-being of humans. They comfort us, and provide protection in some cases, they even help the police!
P.S. This blog makes me want to be a vegetarian.
This is a very interesting topic. To begin with, I do have a pet. She is a very lovely dog named Sydney. She was an abandoned Australian Shephard/Collie mutt from an ASPCA from I-Don’t-Remember-Where, but now she is extremely well cared-for a loved dearly. Ironically, my family decided to name her after the Australian capital city of Sydney. You have permission to giggle, because I know I always do when I think about it.
Personally, I’ve always thought that you can communicate with an animal through your own emotions. I think that animals are constantly trying to connect with humans; or at least the domesticated ones. Our pets are very tuned-in to our emotions. When Sydney hears my dad come in through the front door after work every evening, she can tell whether he’s in a good mood or not. If he’s cheerful and talkative, then she knows that she can gambol up to him for a pat on the head. I think that domesticated animals know who their superiors are and can communicate with them, even without the privilege of vocal expression. And, just as our pets know their masters, we obey our leaders as well. It never ends, this world of rank.
As for animals in the wild, I don’t think that I can speak for them. I’m not going to pretend that I’m an animal rights activist. I’m certainly not a vegetarian, because I could never give up a good meal of KFC. Plus, I can’t say that I’ve ever given too much attention to all of the animal cruelty in the world. Another ironic thing took place today, however. On Falcon TV this morning, a video was played displaying the unfortunate clubbing and shooting of baby seals in Canada for the usage of their fur. Actually viewing the harsh event was a blow to the gut, but my homeroom teacher’s reaction elevated my feelings about it. Mrs. DeMark is the coordinator of this year’s curricular project, and I can see why. She is very active in the community and animals’ rights; she actually worked with baby seals for 5 years, I think. Anyway, she couldn’t even watch the video, and afterwards, she gave a speech to our homeroom about it. No one really cared, but I told her about our current blog for this week. I told her that I would mention that video, because it was really, truly horrible. Alice Walker was very insightful with her theory about animals possessing human emotion. They are living creatures, just like we are. They shouldn’t be treated the way that they were in the baby seal video. It’s harsh, cruel, and terrible.
In that case, I can only say that I wish more people would realize how they treat animals. It is true that different people treat different animals in different ways. Wow, that was a lot of differents. Some treat their dogs harshly at the park. Some shoot baby seals in the head. But these different levels should not differentiate the treatment that animals deserve. Every animal deserves to be treated with respect and love. I truly believe that now.
I wasn’t sure if we had to react to someone else’s blog, but I figured I would just in case. It’s nothing really insightful, but just something I agreed with. Devon made a great comment about communication with her pet being “funny”. This is true! Sydney has the strangest ways of associating certain things together. When one of my family members asks “Where’s mommy?!”, Sydney bounds to the window and barks at my mom’s car. Also, she always perks up her ears when you mention words that start with a CH sound. It’s so endearing and adorable.
It is so ironic that the blog for this week is about animal rights, and this morning on Falcon TV, they showed that very depressing video about the baby seals.
So about the pets. My mom always complains about the amount of animals we have in my house. My brother has six water turtles, four box turtles, one leopard gecko, two toads, a huge bull frog, a cat, and a dog. Don't worry, my brother has a permit for all these animals. But the only two that really seem like pets are my dog and cat.
My cat has many different names. We don't know if it is a boy or a girl. I like to think she is a girl, and her name is Hope. I was the one who found her. I found her on my front porch and we kind of just adopted her.
My dog is a yellow lab. Her name is Nellie, and I named her. I named her on accident though. We were thinking of names, and I just mentioned the name Nellie and it kind of stuck. I love my puppy, she's only a year old, to death, but sometimes, she is so dumb! She does not learn anything. We have been trying to train her for a year now, and she still doesn't know how to lay down.
I don't think that I can communicate with my pets, if I could, my dog would listen. But I think that she can communicate with me. Either that or I'm just physic. But I know when she wants to play. I know when she wants to eat, and I know when she wants to go out. I think she is communicating with me.
I do not think at all that the activists are wasting their time by fighting for animal rights. Their are too many animals, both pets and wild, that are abused on a regular basis that do not deserve to be. I have recently made it a point to find beauty products that do not test on animals. After watching the movie about the seals, I know that they are not wasting their time. Those seals need to be saved!
Animals do have rights. They don't have rights that humans do, but I know for sure that they do not have the right to beaten and cruelly tested on. They have a right to a good family, or else the freedom to live on their own in the wild. I do not believe in hunting for a sport. If hunters eat the meat, that is another story. But if you are going to kill an animal just for the fun of it, that is just inhumane.
Just as Joanna said, what Paris Hilton does for her dog, is going a little over board. I could not imagine spending that much money on Nellie, no matter how much I love her. Just like humans, pets don't need the extra things in life. They need warmth, food, water, and most importantly, love.
We have three pets in my house, well four if you count my little brother; we have two cats and one rabbit. Our cats are named Smudge and Odo, and our rabbit is named snowball. We chose the name for smudge simple because he had a little white spot on his otherwise black nose and so my mother. Smudge was gotten from a friend of my aunts who found him by the side of the road and was unable to keep him. Snowball was named snowball simply because my brother saw his pure white fur and thought of a snowball. We Found Snowball wandering around our back yard and realized that he had a slight limp and so we took him to the vet at the vets office we determined that he was not a wild rabbit but a domestic one, and so we took him in as a member of our household. Our last pet is Odo, he is first and foremost my cat, it was my idea to get him and if he will do what anyone in the house says it would be me. Odo’s name has a bit of a story behind it we first got him from my friend’s mother who had found him where she worked, and when I had adopted him I was told that he was a girl and so for about a week before we took him to the vet for shots I was calling him/her “Adara” which in Welsh means ‘catches birds’ which was a suitable name for a cat. Once we found out that she was actually a he I changed his name to Odo who is a character on Star Trek, and more importantly the name of William the conqueror’s half brother Odo of Bayeux. I defiantly believe that it is possible for animals to understand humans mostly through the understanding of vocal tone and inflection I don’t think the words you say matter, only the tone used my cat very rarely come running for any sound except for the sound of his food hitting the dish. I even sometimes understand what Odo is trying to tell me I usually know whether he is crying because he’s bored or if he’s hungry. As for the rights of animals I do believe that animals have some rights but I find it hard to define those rights without delving into the realm of hypocrisy although I’m shocked and disgusted when I hear about football players forcing dogs to fight, or commercial baby seal clubbing, I find myself unable to resist the lure of a juicy burger. While I do respect the commitment of some animal activists I do believe there is such a thing as going to far, pouring paint on models, vandalizing taco bells. I guess I find it hard to work myself up into that kind of a frenzy when I see human tragedies happening all around the world I’ve dragged this on for far to long already.
I have to say that upon hearing about this blog, I thought I would have much to write. After all, anyone who knows me probably thinks Am I Blue has my name written all over it. However, sitting before my computer, I surprised myself by realizing that I don't have much to share at all. Shocker, huh?
I do have a pet. He is a very fat cat named Oliver. He was not always fat, it just kind of happened. The story of his name is actually quite funny: I excitedly brought him home as a kitten one evening two Octobers ago. Amidst all the excitement of actually getting a cat (after obtaining the permission of a father who had devoutly refused a household pet for fourteen years), I never really sat down to pick out a possible name. After debating over possible names for about three days, my mother simply said, "Well how about 'Oliver'?" And "Oliver" stuck.
I regret to admit that I cannot communicate with my cat. I'm probably not missing much; I think the only two words he can say are "I'm Hungry." I've spent an awful lot of time asking Oliver why he is biting me as his eyes grow huge and he sinks his fangs into my skin and flattens his ears. He has yet to give me an answer.
So, what about animal activists? What about them? I don't even know. So, I turn to Emily Capille and her hysterical masterpiece of a blog. People should, indeed, fight for what's right, but don't infringe on other people's rights. Make a poster, but don't post it to someone's head, for instance. They're not wasting time; I think they're actually doing something meaningful. (and to the "helping humans" bit- oh, please)
Animals don't have a written Constitution. Or at least, they haven't shown it to me. But I do agree with Walker that animals should be respected as humans. (which in today's society doesn't say much) After reading Am I Blue, I've actually changed my style around horses to be more respectful. It's had a great outcome so far that for the sake of time I won't get into, but all I can say is, "Thanks, Walker."
I have two little dogs, Ayla and Brody. My mom named Ayla after the main character in Clan of the Cave Bear. Brody was seriously the cutest little pup when we got him two months ago. I was watching the OC when she pulled up with him, and since he was sooo adorable, we named him after Adam Brody, cause no one can deny how cute he is either =P. Ayla is a toy American Eskimo and Brody is a Pomeranian.
I talk to my puppies all the time. They really are good listeners. When I'm happy, and talk in a upbeat tone they get really excited and jump on their back legs. But, when I'm not feeling too good and just talk in a normal tone, they usually come and snuggle up to me, almost like they want to make me feel better. I think they can communicate also. When ever they want to go outside they start whinning and either run to the door or just keep looking at it. Ayla is so good at communicating that she can actually sing. It sounds like I'm making that up, but I'm dead serious. If I play the piano she will sit on the arm of the chair next to it and yelp and bark until I'm done playing. My dad has a friend, Norman, and he is a very big loud man. When ever its late at night and he is with my dad playing music he tends to get a little too loud. Once he hits a certain volume, it is guaranteed that Ayla and Brody will bark at him, almost like they are telling him to lower his voice. These are all clear signs that animals know what is going on around them and can communicate to us.
Unlike some of the other blogs I read, I am a vegetarian. I watched a film called Meet Your Meat, and ever since I just couldn't bring my self to eat the animals. Because of this fact, I think the activists that spend those hours campaigning are doing it for a good cause. Someone has to show the world how these animals are being treated, because animals DO have rights. I had a cat and a dog at the same time when I was in 8th grade. My dog used to sit under the dining room table with his back and front legs out, kinda like a superman pose. The day after he died I found my cat laying under the dining room table with her front and back legs out, just like him. She had never done this before. I think that this shows they have feelings also. When a person abuses an animal, they feel that both emotionally and physically. I do agree with Jake that dressing up pets and treating them like people is a bit weird. But, at least those animals are getting treated a way they should, so it doesn't really bother me too much. Also, like Jake, I think the limit on animals rights is hard to define. As long as a person can afford the animal, treat them well, and not intend on killing them for food, I think that is a pretty good way to be living as a pet.
Wow. Well I have six pets, if you do not count my brother. I have three dogs and three cats and though it may be total chaos, I would not have it any other way. My oldest pet is my dog Jake. He is a thirteen-year-old, 95 pound black lab, and my baby. My brother named him after some boy on a TV show that we used to watch. Next is my beautiful yellow lab Chamois (pronounced Shammy.) She is in fact the color of a chamois cloth. She is seven-years-old, and my dad’s baby. Then we have the little rescue. We aren’t quite sure how old Shelby is, but our guess is about one or two. She was found on the side of the road by my mom, with an elapsed rectum. My mom went through quite a few names before she ended on Shelby. We weren’t supposed to keep her, just like we weren’t supposed to keep my cats. My little boy is Simon, my first cat. All my cats are rescues like Erin’s, and Simon was the first. He was named after Simon from Seventh Heaven, the love of my life three years ago. There were three more rescues: Sunny, Lenny, and Chloe, in that order. We tried to get rid of Sunny, but the people decided not to take him. The next day came Lenny, Sunny’s identical twin, and still no one would take them. After a while Simon got so attached we just couldn’t let them go. Then came Chloe and that is where my mom drew the line. She lives with my uncle now and I get to see her a few times a year. I was sad then, but she is happy now, so it all worked out. Sunny is the color orange, hence his name and Lenny got his name from a family joke.
I feel that I have a personal connection with each one of my pets. Though she isn’t really mine, I have a connection with Chamois the most. She can tell when I am sick and when I am sad. She slowly walks over and puts her head on my lap as if to say, “I am here for you.” And she knows that I am always there for her, especially when there are crazy thunderstorms that scare her half to death. Though I can not communicate with my animals, or any animals, with words, I feel that we can communicate through feelings and actions.
I admire the people that spend their time fighting for animal’s rights. I mean I am no vegetarian but dog fighting and killing animals for fun is just plan cruel. They speak for those who can’t and I think that is a great thing. I think animals deserve many rights. They eat, and breathe and sleep just like humans do. In fact, there are great deals of animals that do much more work than most of the human population! I agree with Erin that we need to stop being so greedy, and share what we have, because we really do have so much. I have to confess that I sometimes smack my dogs butt when she does something wrong, but I would NEVER EVER do anything to hurt her.
Unlike what Erin said, I would do anything for my animals. I would probably even give my life if it meant that they would live a long and happy one. My pets are like my family. I love them more than almost anything in the world. Jake is getting old and suffering a bit and it KILLS me, absolutely KILLS me to see him be in pain. He is going to die very soon, and when that happens I just don’t know what I will do. I may not even be in school for a couple days. He walks over to me as I write this and it brings tears to my eyes. I can’t like without my little snuggle buddy! I love animals so much, I am going to become a vet. So you can see they mean a lot to me.
I think animals are just as important as humans on this earth, maybe even more.
Yes I do have a pet Ms. Bunje. I have a German Shepard/ Chow mix dog named Tawny. My mom picked out that name when we got her. I do believe that I can communicate with my dog and she can communicate with me. She responds to all the nicknames my mom calls her. Tawny communicates with all of us with her body language. When she has to go out, she wags her tail and won’t leave you alone until you put her out. When she is hungry, she stands by her food bowl and is in everybody’s way in the kitchen until she gets her food. You can definitely tell when Tawny doesn’t like somebody because she avoids them and hides behind us to stay away from them. She knows what I mean when I say certain phrases like “You want food?” or “You wanna go out?” So, yes, my dog and I can definitely communicate with each other.
Animals should definitely be treated with respect and care and not be neglected. Activists just take that to the extreme. They act like animals should be treated like humans. That’s just a bit much. If the activists had their way, my dog would be eating at the dinner table next to me. That would be awkward because animals are supposed to eat their own food not on the table. They don’t need or probably want what a person wants. Animals can’t use computers or phones or anything like that. They just want food, shelter, and somebody to love and care for them for the rest of their lives. That’s what a pet needs. What they want, I don’t know. I think the activists need to spend more time on making sure animals are getting their basic needs and not the wants of a person.
I think animals have the right to live and eat and be loved. They shouldn’t be starved or beaten or neglected, or in extreme cases put against each other to die. That is just so wrong. I agree with you completely Ms. Bunje on that the punishment should be much higher for animal cruelty. Animals never did anything wrong to deserve to be treated so viciously. I believe that however you raise your pet is how that pet will grow up to be. For example, my dog is really lazy and loves to eat. When she was a puppy, she received the luxury of taking naps on the soft carpet all day in the air conditioning and she would always eat scraps off the table. If you raise your pet to be very fit and polite to everybody, that pet will grow up to be fit and polite to everybody because that’s what you taught your pet.
I completely agree with Rebecca on how there’s a limit on how people treat, or spoil, their pet. Animals don’t need clothes or little pocketbooks to be carried around in all day. They have fur to keep them warm and they have legs, too, to walk. Animals should NEVER be abused or mistreated, but they don’t need to be spoiled like a person, either.
I do indeed have a pet. Actually I have a few pets that occupy my household. I have Three dogs and one bird. The names of my canines are Rascal, Sneakers, and Coco while the name of my bird is just plain “bird”. Don’t ask me why that is his name, I suppose I just wasn’t feeling creative at the moment. Rascal is a Chocolate Lab, Sneakers is a Jack Russell Terrier, Coco is a Shepard mix, and Bird is a love bird. By the way I named all of the previously stated pets, mostly out of randomness. However, the my pets do tend to live up to their names, such as sneakers who is quite the dastardly, deceiving rind leader of the group. Rascal also lived up to his name quite well when he was younger too, now he is a little to old for that. Also for some reason, I think my bird is supernatural, because they are not really supposed to live without their mates and his mate died about Seven years ago, and he was old then so he is like prehistoric now.
For the most part I do believe that I can communicate with my pets. Or at least when I say anything that involves food they unite from no matter where they are tin the house and beg for me to feed them. Usually though, when I am mad or totally pissed at the world they can kind of sense it and gather around me at attack me with their tongues, covered with saliva. As far as me understanding them, I can do that quite well. For instance when Rascal stands in front of the TV so that I can’t change the channel and he barks nonstop then I know for a fact that he is demanding food, and since he is always hungry this happens quite often. Another thing I can sense with my dogs is when they are scared, well this mostly goes for Sneakers because she is a scaredy cat and runs from anything she has never seen before.
When I see or hear about people fighting for animal’s rights I think to my self “good for them”, because they are dedicating their lives to something that they believe is very important which is better than doing nothing with your life. These people are truly doing a good thing by fighting for something that cannot confront the human race on their own. So I have respect for those who fight for the rights of animals, and do not feel as thought they are wasting their time when they have the chance to save the lives of humans. Although I feel it is important to fight for the protection and nurturing of human beings, someone need to fight for these animals for there is only one planet earth and we must conserve every aspect of it. I do feel that animals have rights, mainly the right to live should belong to these creatures. But, there should also be a sort of limit for these rights. No animal should own it’s very own 3 bedroom house with 2 ½ bathrooms and an enormous kitchen, but they should be able to have a place to live and have the necessary supplies to survive.
Well at the moment I have several pets. I just want to say kudos to Joanna on having a basset, because I have three of them. Their names are Max, Kayla and Bowser. Max is the dumbest and one of our favorites. Over time my older brother and me have created a voice for him, which I can demonstrate later in person. Kayla is the leader of the bunch, although she is the smallest of the group. She barks… a lot. Bowser is a big whinny baby. When we first got him he was around 30 pounds overweight so he had to lose about a third of his bodyweight. All three of them are rescue dogs, which we got from Tri-State Basset. We’re fairly sure that Max had been abused pretty badly by his previous owners. He has a lot of odd fears such as some small children and garbage cans. We believe that Bowser was just tied up in the backyard and fed table scraps constantly, hence why he was so fat. Because all of them were rescue dogs they all had names before we got them. My family has never bought a single cat, yet somehow we own five. First there’s Fat Cat who is the grouchy old cat we’ve had since before I was born. My big sister had named her after a cartoon character. We also have one named Grace who my mom rescued from a feral cat colony at Ancora. At the time she had some sort of bacteria or something that had grown over her eyes so she couldn’t see. That’s why my mom named her Grace (Twas Blind but now I see.) Also from that same colony we got Kevin and Marzipan who at the time we got them were only a few days old so they looked like gerbils with weird umbilical chords hanging off their stomachs. Most recently we got a cat named Trouble. Trouble is a small kitten who is only a few months old. We’re pretty sure she had been stepped on when she was little, because she has absolutely no use of her back legs. So my mom has devised a sort of wheelchair to help her get around. In the past we have owned two rabbits, two other cats, another dog, a peach faced lovebird that accidentally hung itself (I can explain later,) and a one-winged seagull named Bob. I just noticed I’ve already gotten to 400 words while only saying my pet’s names. I do believe that there can be a sort of conversation between man and animal. Dogs seem to understand some of the things you say, although because of the exceptional stupidity of basset hounds I haven’t been able to see this very much. It is a bit easier with me though, since Max has his own Facebook he can use. Just search for Max Henry and he should show up. I don’t believe that people who speak out for animal rights are a complete waste because unnecessary cruelty is completely wrong. Animals deserve to be treated humanely and only killed only when it is a necessity for mankind such as to provide food. Being the owner of several animals that had been abused in the past I understand that quite well. The actions of other humans have left my cat Trouble crippled, and my dog Max full of illegitimate fears. I truly don’t understand how people could mistreat animals so heinously.
P.S. A couple friends and I are gonna go clubbing baby seals this weekend. Mr. Costal says he’s has some extra clubs for anyone who wants to come along, so just let me know. That includes you Bunje.
Yeah, I have a pet. It’s a cocker spaniel named Peanut. I personally didn’t choose the name for Peanut; that was my mom and sister’s responsibility, but I do know why they chose the name. Peanut was the runt of the litter and he is a kind of dark shade of brown, so they called him Peanut. I do believe that I can communicate with my dog, when I call his name he comes and when I tell him to sit he sits; obviously I can communicate with him otherwise he wouldn’t do anything I say. As for animals in general, I believe that it’s possible to communicate with them too; not through words usually but body language. I know this to be true in wild animals that have little preconceptions about people at least; on more than one occasion, I have encountered different types of animals in the wild during one of my many pointless wanderings into the woods. And every time the animals seemed to have responded to me in a way that corresponded to my body language. For example, one time I came across a deer grazing on some grass, I was very calm and my body language was very laid back, the deer just stayed there and kept on grazing. Another time however, I was in this same situation and at first I didn’t see the deer, so I was startled by the deer, which quickly ran away. Animals can communicate with humans as well; it’s through body language though. I know because whenever you see an animal you can tell what it’s feeling by paying attention to how it acts. The animals may not be trying to intentionally impart this knowledge on to you, but if you pay attention it’s not that hard to realize it.
Activists who spend their lives campaigning for animal rights are fighting a valiant fight, but I wouldn’t fight it. The world is not going to give up eating meat, we were all born omnivores and most of us are going to stay that way. My only problem with killing anything, is allowing it to suffer unnecessary pain. It is very cruel and totally unnecessary to mortally wound something and than just leave it there to die; that truly sickens me. I believe the only right an animal has is to a quick death which has a purpose. Nothing should be killed just for the fun of it all, the animal should be consumed. Recently I heard that some lady died and left a ridiculously large amount of money to her dog; that is simply absurd. That money should have went to a charity or something of that nature. So to answer the question, people should not be allowed to leave money to there pet and there should never be a time when the life of a human is hindered because of the “rights” of animals and the people who protect them.
I agree with Nick, animals do have limited rights that should be protected, but like Nick I too love steak and chicken.
"Animal crackers in my soup, lions and tigers whopty whoop". This is quote by Shirley Temple may have nothing to do with this weeks blog, but what the heck. Anyway to start off the interrogation (just kidding) I do have pets. I have two kitties’ boy and girl, Mack and Maddie. I say their names for the sake of having a name, but I often call them more names than their given name. For example, Mack is smack, mackerdoodle, mack and cheese, or Bruce, because my mom loves Bruce Springsteen. Anyway Maddie has her nicknames too, but it’s beside the point. Maddie is my kitty and Mack is my sisters, we named them that because we liked the names. I have always liked the name Maddie, so I gave it to my loveable kitty. Communication with animals does exists but not to the extent of other humans. Animals sense fear, pain, happiness, and other emotions which they convey to us people in the form of sound or action. Action is the most important form of communication that animals use, because they cannot talk. The actions substitute human vernacular, and equally get the job done.
Hey, don’t get me wrong I think animals have the god given natural right to be treated kindly and proper, but there is a line when it comes to excessive treatment. In my mind there is absolutely no reason for a dog to be cruelly treated, harmed, or harassed, or any animal for that matter. However I agree with Ms. Bunje because I too eat meat, but it is part of my culture. Anyway it is wrong to treat an animal better than you would treat a family member. They deserve the right of attention and love, but going over the top is superfluous. When I see animals treated like the Queen of England it makes me sick, and so do the unfortunate but harsh truths of the Vick case. It gives me shivers and chills to see such cruelty to animals. In my set of morals, there is a medium of treatment that animals deserve and should be given, but the line to cross is bold.
As I said before animals have the right to proper existence, which is a broad term for fair treatment, affection, and discipline. Joanna said that going over the top is ridiculous. I totally agree with this because it shows the clear line that in my mind was crossed. When you start buying things for animals where you have a wardrobe, closet, penthouse, studded chain, iced out dish or anything of that nature it preposterous. A good owner realizes the fact that the pet is their best friend and shows true affection for the pet. True affection does not include a $1000 shopping spree at PetSmart.
I was looking at Zander's blog and because Zander wrote it I immediately thought of Pokémon. Have you ever realized how unbelievably cruel that is? I mean its basically dogfights only instead of two dogs fighting its one oddly drawn dog that shoots electricity out of its mouth against some sort of monkey that shoots fire out of its butt. And in the end of the fights the trainers achieve money and glory for the blood of the Pokémon they have the audacity to call their “best friends.” It’s sickening. Ash, Misty, and Brock are no better than Michael Vick and deserve the same fate.
FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE JIGGLYPUFF!!!!!!!
Wow to me it seems like I am so different from the rest of you guys here! I don’t have a pet. I don’t want a pet and I am not to fond of animals period. So I guess you can say I am the type of person that will see dog getting hit by its owner and go on with the rest of my day perfectly like nothing happen. Does that make me a mean and selfish person? No, I truly don’t think so. I just think that there are more things in life that are more important to be worried about going on with human beings than an animal. Don’t get me wrong I totally believe that animals posses emotions such as love, sadness, etc.. But what do I care if a dog or a horse is missing there companion? There are children out there and Yes, in America that only eat one meal. Which is most likely what they are fed in school. So is a dog not getting fed more important than knowing there are students that are still out there that only eat one meal? In my eyes when it is compared to that, whether a dog eats or not is irrelevant. I think this is why our society is so corrupt we don’t pay attention to the important things instead we focus more on the irrelevant side of life.
Just to make a point every animal has the birth instinct to survive on there own without the help of humans. So cats, dog, etc all are capable of surviving on there own. Us
on the other hand don’t have the instincts to do that from birth and until we are about eighteen we depend on others to support us.
So should animals have rights. I wholeheartedly don’t think so. Why should they? Do they work, pay taxes or help society in any beneficial way? The answer to all these questions are no. I don’t think animals should have the same equalities as humans which include having rights. I personally don’t think that is fair at all. As far as owners go with taking care of their pet I do believe that is a responsibility the owners has brought on themselves and should uphold to it. They should do everything expected of them to do, but if they don’t does it bother me? You know the answer is “NO”.
I totally agree with Brittany S. and I think herself and I are coming from the same point of view but she just a little nicer than myself.
My younger sister, Tuggles, is 9 years old (or in her case 63). Tuggles is a VERY fat (but I prefer to say presently plump) basset hound with long ears and droopy eyes. Being the youngest in our family, she is also the cutest. My mom and sister completely disagree but they’re just jealous they don’t have her dark complexion, voluptuous curves, long, strong nails, and amazing, big, brown eyes. Tuggles became a huge part in our lives during the month of May when my sister one the last “Student of the Month” for the school year in third grade. She had never won this exciting award in her past elementary career so my mom was not expecting her to win it this year either. She told Lauren, my sister that is, that if she was to win, she would buy her a dog. Of course, saying this meant nothing to my mother, for she had no doubt in her mind Lauren was not going to win “Student of the Month.” Well, she thought wrong. three weeks after announcing this pointless incentive, my mom received that fateful letter in the mail, stating Lauren had, in fact, won. so, the search for the perfect dog was in full swing. Me, only at the darling age of 7, had no clue any of this was occurring. I was lost in my own little world full of Barbies, Magic Attic Club dolls, Beanie Babies, and Furbies (which now scare me, by the way).
It was on a Wednesday. The sky was blue, birds were chirping delightful sing-song melodies, and the smell of flowers filled the air. We were greeted by some nice woman at a cute little house who asked my sister if she wanted purple or pink flowers. Lauren quickly said purple and we both, clueless, walked to her backyard. Immediately gasping at a bunch of baby bassets flopping around, I realized we were buying a dog! My sister, on the other hand, who was always a bit slower than me, asked the lady, “well, where are the flowers?”
Within an hour, Lauren had found the perfect puppy. Or maybe the perfect puppy found Lauren. This perfect, little puppy quickly became known as Tuggles due to the simple fact that she was tugging on Lauren’s scrunchy as she sat and played with other dogs. Obviously, Tuggles was Lauren’s dog but over the years it became quite clear Tuggles and I were meant to be best friends. She’s definitely my dog. We literally even have our own language with each other, just ask my friends! We also have our special songs that we sing every night before we go “nighty-night” together.
For all of those activists working hard, spending excruciating long hours fighting for animals’ rights, I say, “more power to ya’!” In all seriousness, I feel very strongly for an animal’s treatment by a human. It kills me to see pets, or even wildlife be abused by people of my ilk. There is no way the activists are wasting their time because Americans, at least, are given a chance in this world. What they do with that chance is up to them, but everyone has a choice, a voice, and a purpose. What more can be given to them? If a person is having difficulty with an issue about their rights they can fight it on their own or find someone who can help them. You don’t see a fish in a little bowl, with sparkly stones at the bottom and a scuba diver as their only friend, taking the stand in a court room and discussing their feelings toward the rights they are given as a fish, do you?
Animals, I’d like to believe, do have rights, though most humans may not be aware of them. Luckily, there are laws against cruelty towards these innocent creatures that are put into use, for the most part. Yet for some reason, these laws and punishments are sometimes forgotten, lightened, or not even put into effect by authority. There should not be a limit for what people do for animals at all. I HATE limits. Why do limits exist? If you want to ramble on for hours in some ridiculous, discursive rant, do it! Why limit your voice you are given as a human? Why limit the voice we, as humans, could give to the animals in our world? They aren’t people, but they do have feelings.
Ok as a bunch of people have already posted, "I 100% agree with Joanna!"..However, I think she would make an amazing VP haha. I've met her basset hound Allen and he is really cute, definitely not as cute as Tuggles, but he comes pretty darn close. :)
I have never had luck with the whole pet thing. I used have a dozen love birds and a parrot. My favorite out of all of them was the parrot. One day when my mom was bringing something down the steps she knocked over the cage when the front door was open. Lucky, my unlucky parrot, flew out the door. Everyday, after I got home from school, I would sit on my front porch and wait for Lucky to come home… but he never did. This is the exact reason why I got a cat. I named him Oscar... yeah from Sesame Street… I never really got too attached to him because he was mean old kitty. I was neither upset nor heartbroken when he ran away. I felt no need to wait for his return since I was not really attached to him. After losing both Lucky and Oscar, I got some fish. They really did not hold my interest for more than two minutes because I wanted a pet I could play with. FINALLY I got a dog. I got the cutest little puppy in my grandma’s dog’s litter. She was white with black spots. She was extremely adorable so I felt it only right to name her Precious. Even though I loved Precious SO much, my mom was never too fond of her. She did not like cleaning up her messes or trying to train her. I told her I would do it all... I just needed a little bit of time. I knew within a couple of weeks I could train Precious because I understood her and she understood me. I am not exactly how, but the little things, like waiting by the door for me when I got home for school or knowing exactly when to be quiet and stop barking. One day I came home and my beloved Precious was gone. My mom told me she gave her to my uncle Eddy for a couple of weeks so he could train her for us. Those couple of weeks turned into a couple of months which quickly turned into a couple of years. The next time I went over my uncle’s name he had my Precious, only he did not call her Precious. He called her Molly. His evil wife insisted I do the same scolding me every time I would even think about saying “Precious.” After that, I decided not to test my luck with pets anymore. I figured even though I love animals, maybe it would be better for them if I just did not have one anymore. =)
Helping animals is anything but a waste of time. They bring so much happiness to our lives, why would anyone want to hurt them. People who abuse animals should be treated almost as severely as though who abuse humans. Animals have the same UNALIENABLE rights (life, liberty, and happiness) we have. There should be no “limit” to what people can do for animals, because if someone wants to help animals then they should be able to everything they can or want to do to help them.
I completely disagree with Jake when he said “First, the animal was already dead when the person bought the coat. It’s not like they shot and skinned the mink themselves.” This statement does not justify people going out and buying mink coats. If people stopped buying the coats the hunters will stop killing the mink to skin them and make coats out of their skin.
=)
hey D rel. The words are "Animal crackers in my soup, monkeys and rabbits loop da loop."
I have more than one pet. I have a horse, two cats, and my favorite, a dog. The horse's name is Rusty, the cats are C.C. (Calico Cat which is an incredibly weird name for a cat), Tommy, and my dog Tucker. Communication is a huge part of my relationship with my animals. My horse whinnies (?) when he wants to be fed and I, or whoever else is feeding him, am not on schedule. He also has a lonely look when my sister Keri, who is the only person allowed to ride him, is gone. My cats are an old woman who wants attention (C.C) and a cat born from incest that can't eat hard food and is unable to clean himself. They communicate with me when they rub against my leg, saying "I'm hungry." or "I want to be pet." My dog is the most communicative of my pets. He knows how to sit, play dead, roll over, jump, speak, and some other things as well. He tells someone in the house when he needs to go to the bathroom. When he sleeps with me and has to go to the bathroom he jumps on top of me and licks my face. It's a bit annoying, but I know that if I don't let him out, he'll end up going to the bathroom in my room, which is never good. I know that the point is being made because the animal always seems more pleasant and satisfied after I fulfill what I believe to be the animal's desire. I do not think that the activists that spend hours campaigning for the rights of animals are wasting their time. Dog fights, cock fights, and putting down horses that can't race anymore are a few of the ridiculous and unnecessary things that we do that should definitely not be done. Disciplining pets, though, riding horses, and to comment on Jon's post battling Pokemon are not cruel at all. Pets must be disciplined, or how else are they to know that the two hundred year old Persian carpet is not their personal toilet? I know because I have been around horses my entire life that horses enjoy being ridden. They are like people in a way. People love attention, and that is how these horses feel. They love the affection and attention given to them when they are being ridden. Pokemon are much like this, in my opinion. It is true that the trainer gets the glory and honor, but the Pokemon are shown, by most trainers at least, respect, kindness, and are given rewards of friendship for their efforts. Basically, if one cares for the animal as one would care for a child or best friend, then this person is fulfilling his duty. But, if a person uses animals for personal gain without showing the animal the proper respect and love that it deserves, then something must be done.
Oh well, isn’t this an interesting blog. First off, yes, I have a pet. I have a little puppy by the name of Shiloh. My brother named him after his favorite book. He is a beagle and jack russell mix and a complete basket case. He has extreme ADD, is always bouncing off the walls, and never wants to calm down. This is what happens when you breed a jack russell and beagle, and that should never be repeated, EVER. Despite his crazy behavior, I do believe he is somewhat intelligent, but he never seems to want to listen. I agree with Monica when she said that animals don’t really hear what you are saying, but they can pretty much get the gist of what you are saying by the tone of your voice. (Here we go again with the literary terms.) My dog knows when I’m angry with him by how I speak to him, not by what I say to him. In return, he communicates with me by his actions. He responds to my anger by tackling me with kisses, which is his way of telling me to stop being mad at him. It usually always works.
That is just dogs though. I believe some animals are smarter than others. Chimpanzees and dolphins for example are probably the smartest creatures in the world, below humans (not the majority of humans, because the majority of humans are complete idiots). They communicate with us in ways that are completely esoteric. Chimps can do sign language, and dolphins do amazing flips and show tricks.
Now onto the subject of the animal rights activist. Because I am a cynical, sarcastic curmudgeon (or realist, depending how you look at it), I am going to be the mean one and say that being an animal rights activist is a complete waste of time. The goals and doctrines of PETA and Save the Animal of the Week Association are completely beyond me. I understand that they are trying to do noble things like stop the inhumane treatment of cows being slaughtered for our food, but not eating my Quarter-Pounder with cheese is not going to change the world. Even if one million people stopped eating hamburgers, nothing would change. In this day and age, being an animal rights activist is a fruitless effort. You can protest the slaughterhouses and other private companies, but they will never change. People love money more than they love animal rights. Okay now that you know that won’t work, what is your next move? Is it to lobby Congress to pass legislation to make things better? Great idea, but I can guarantee you that no one will listen to you because they have too many other things to worry about. Okay, well maybe you should be an extremist and free all the monkeys. Those of you who have seen “28 Days Later” all know how that turned out.
With all that said, I do not wish for it to be assumed that I don’t believe animals have rights. They do, but to an extent. Do they have the right to not get eaten? No. Unless they are some animal like a dog or horse, its dinner time. Animals do have the right, however, to be free from issues like the ones pertaining to the Michael Vick situation. I believe that there should be stricter punishments for those sorts of crimes.
By the way, I also completely understand Brittany's opinion and points, however I strongly disagree with one in particular. You said how you find it to be a bit ridiculous how a group of people stand around with signs, fighting for what they believe is right. And while you may be right about animal cruelty always existing, I find it to be VERY effective when people protest. One little sign does make a difference, whether it's about a circus elephant or sitting at the back of a bus. Any protest is very effective. Referring to animals or African Americans, both groups of people with their signs made from passion and determination can change the world. Keep an open mind to this possibility. Fighting for something, ANYTHING, is not a waste at all...
After a year and a half, we finally got another pet. Pets is what I should say. In the summer I experimented a bit by getting two humorous ferrets. They truly are amazing little critters but definitely not fit for my lifestyle or house. I ended up giving them to my friend from church whose ferret died and in return he got two more. But we decided that if we truly want a puppy we would get one around Christmas. Bad idea. My sister was down from Messiah College and decided she would dedicate her whole time to looking at dogs. Her and my mom went to PetCo at the mall and my mom fell in love with this black and white long-haired Chihuahua.
We got him. At first we called him Lancelot or however you spell it but after calling him Lance a few times we decided it was a bit too gay for us considering Lance Bass. So we changed it to Zorro; a most awesome choice on my mom’s part. Here’s a link to some pictures of him (http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3500&l=5a202&id=557448688). The name came from him being black and white simply and my mom liking Zorro. We tried to find a mask and cape for him for Halloween but only got a pumpkin costume. But I agree with Courtney Sherman about animal communication. Although animals seem to be able to tune-in to our emotions, I think it’s our body language that hints them off. When I had my one dog, Lucky, an awesome little beagle, he knew that when we were all home and doing nothing it was his time for a little attention, only because we weren’t doing anything. When we would yell he would scamper off and when we would be talking he would usually just sit down. He knew the actions that we went through that connected with our emotions. And I also agree with Courtney that I can’t speak for wild animals. I haven’t had many experiences with them that I can’t make any real conclusions. With domesticated animals it seems that they learn human actions while wild animals just have instincts about humans but if a certain area’s species are tormented by hunters then they will learn to flee or fight us. Experience is the master teacher to animals I think.
As for animal activists, I honestly cannot support or deny their rights. It is not a subject that I care much about but will help if someone calls me to it. If a friend wants to go hunting and asks me, sure I’ll go. If another one wants to write a letter to some congressman or lobbyist or something to protect animal rights, sure I’ll help. I believe that we should share this world with every creature like Tawni said but I also think that animals are here for our use. Animals certainly have the right to no abuse. Abuse is unnecessary in every form for everything. There are natural rights that humans have and animals are also entitled similar ones. But I don’t think I personally should convince a person to one way or the other, that’s up to the person who passionately feels one way or the other. I am a firm believer that if someone has a just cause and heart for that cause that he or she should go full fledged to accomplish their purpose. So on that note, people can go as far as they like for the protection of animals, this is America nonetheless. Our country is ALL about politics. A limit on the amount of activity activists are allowed is irrational.
Once again, I do not advocate animal’s rights either way, except on abuse, but what is my opinion and what is the activist’s but one in billions? I find life almost pointless at times and find very few things to care passionately about. This is not one of those. I know that what I can’t do will stop anything unless if it was an accident or I had a change of heart. I’m sorry to all those pro-animal people, it seems like animals will always be victims to us humans.
Ever since the death of my first dog, I've always wanted a new golden retriever to replace my dear old Derby. My parents always thought that a dog was too much of a responsibility for such a busy family though, and they didn't think it would be fair to the dog if we left him home in a crate all day while we were at school, then at meetings, sports, family gatherings, or any other errand. My brother and I constantly begged for a new pup, but, to our dismay, we never did receive one. Then, on one Christmas eve when I was about 7, my entire family was at my aunt's house and my parents surprised my brother and me with a new black cat, who my brother later named Spooky because he was so scared of her. At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like her or not. I always missed my Derby and wanted a new dog in his place. After awhile, though, I warmed up to Spooky, and I'm glad I did. Spooky lead to another addition in the Rheault family pets, Chubbles, our other cat. Chubbles was named before we got him by our neighbors down the street. He was named Chubbles because he was the fattest cat in the whole litter. I didn't like the name the first time I heard it, but everytime I think about it, how many other pets do you know named Chubbles ?! It's so unique and I think it's cute.
I agree with everyone on this blog, people and animals definitely have a certain level of communication with each other. Like the dog lovers said, when they say "walk" or "treat", their pup knows exactly what they're talking about. Although I can't take Spooky and Chubbles for walks, they will be at the front door waiting for us to come inside everytime they see lights coming up the driveway. They know what it means when they see us grab the bowl with the kitty designs on it because they run to their food bowl right away knowing that we're going to scoop some more food in. And everytime I open the fridge and take out the milk, Chubbles never passes up an opportunity to rub against my leg and stretch his front limbs as far up to the counter as he can, trying to tell me that he wants some. The only thing that I think animals and humans find miscommunication with is voice tone. An owner can be saying "you're a dumb animal. you're so stupid." but as long as they're saying it in a cute little voice and petting their animal then the animal knows no better than to show affection towards their owner. If the owner were to be screaming in an angry tone "I LOVE YOU ! YOU'RE THE BEST PET IN THE ENTIRE WORLD !" the animal is going to assume that he's being scolded and shy away from his owner. With animals, it's all about the tone since they don't actually understand words.
Like you said, Bunje, "Don't even get me started on Michael Vick." I hate hate HATE animal cruelty. I think it's terrible for animals to suffer when they have, realistically, such a short life to live anyway. People live for decades and decades and every year the average age of death increases because of medical advances. Animals live, what? A decade or so and then they're gone? It's so sad to think that they have to make it through the type of cruelty that some of them deal with. But this is where I feel like a hypocrite. I think it's totally fine to raise a cow for a burger, a pig for some bacon, and a chicken for it to get fried. It's sort of upsetting but I've always been raised a meat eater and I could never ever give up my pork roll and steak.
I don't necessarily think that the activists are wasting their time by putting so much of it into pushing for more animal rights. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, whether they're the type of person who'd eat filet mignon with me or not. The only activists that I don't enjoy are the ones that try and push their opinions on you. You know, the ones that try and make you feel guilty that you're eating a burger or eyeing up a hotdog. The ones that visit Peta.com 100 times a day and send you all the links to the cow slaughtering videos to make you "realize how unreasonable" it is. I think that if they hardcore believe that, then they're entitled to their own opinion and they should be fighting for what they believe in.
Animals don't necessarily have rights, but I do think that people should, like my peers have stated, take into account their lifestyle before they accumulate pets. There should, in fact, be certain rules and regulations that people should be following and certain criteria that should be met before the purchase or adoption of a new pet. I don't think that people should be able to own pets if they have zero time to take care of them.
First, animals have rights. They should really have the same rights as humans, but they do not since we have to feed them, cloth them, and shelter them like babies. Personally, my only pet is a frog, he is not too smart, but my aunt’s dog Lil Sweet is. This dog got mad at my mom before for not coming to say hi to her after she got all dressed up for her to come over. This lasted for 4 months until Christmas when my mom bought her treats.
To show this dog (lil person) ‘s intelligent, she can unwrap her Christmas presents herself and will do basically anything you say out loud without showing her where to go. All this can probably be contributed to the way my aunt treats her dog. I will put it to you this way; the dog has more insurance on her life and teeth than I do. My aunt’s dog definitely has communication with us.
I love that people advocate for the animals because in truth we are their voice. For the most part we can not communicate with animals with a few slight exceptions. So the animals need us to talk and fight on their behalf especially against hunters who really do not care what happens to the animal as long as they get its fur or meat. Too many wonderful animals have already gone extinct and it would be ashamed to see anymore do the same.
I like Dave M’s approach to choosing his pet. Go Phillies!! and Chase (even though we were eliminated already:/) However on a more serious note the first dog I ever I had to chose the exact same way but it was in a cardboard box at my friend’s house and I chose because the one puppy knocked the box over and came and started playing with me. It was a yellow lab named Pepsi. My mom and dad told me I had to name him right away or he would go back and I could not think, but I was drinking a Pepsi and my little imagination kind of just ran with it. Well that’s all I have to say about that.
Okay, I have one dog. Her name is Amy and she is a brown Chesapeake Bay Retriever. We bought her from a breeder when I was in kindergarten and my sister was I think only 2. Amy is 12 years old now and she looks it. Really, my dog is so old, but I love her. I can't really remember why we named her Amy, probably because I didn't name her. I think my parents did, but I'm not sure. I used to have two dogs because Amy had puppies and we kept one of the girls so that we had a mother and daughter. She passed away a few years ago, but I do remember that my sister wanted to name her Candy Cane. Her name was Angel, so we had Amy and Angel, but all I remember was that was what my sister wanted her name to be.
I agree completely with Hannah that you cannot talk to an animal. Things like the "Dog Whisperer" and conversations that people apparently have with dogs and cats, I personally think is a little wacko. However, dogs can respond to things that humans do. Obviously they can be trained on things like going to the bathroom or hearing a command and sitting, eating, or barking. This is pretty much the extent of communication, though. I really don't believe we can talk to the animals. Dr. Dolittle was just a movie.
Clubbing baby seals for fun in Canada is wrong! That is just horrible and crude. They are not using the animals to survive or use for food or resources. It's just for fun and that is so, so wrong. However, in saying this, I am a hypocrite. I am not a vegetarian. I love meat. I like leather things. Oh yeah, and I LOVE dairy products: cheese, ice cream, yogurt, milk. It's all good. So I'm obviously not a vegan. I do believe that protecting animals is important. So many more species are increasingly becoming endangered and this is wrong. Yes, we use animals for food, but there is a limit on how far you can go. Eliminating a species just to eat them shouldn't be allowed because with a few a species can repopulate itself. With none, it is impossible. I also believe that activists can take things out of hand. Yes, being a vegetarian could help an animal, but the same amount of animals will still die, no matter what. That sounds harsh, but it's true. Whether or not you eat a hamburger or wear a leather belt, that cow still died. It's just that someone other than you is going to eat it. To me, it just seems a little pointless unless a large and powerful group is dedicated to it. Yes, animals have rights. They were on this Earth long before we were and people forget that sometimes. They have rights and should not be expoited, yet there rights do not supercede those of humans. Humans have rights, but they cannot do whatever they want. Animals have rights, but they, too, cannot do everything. There shouldn't be a limit to what a person does to protect them. What someone wants to eat and purchase and wear is their own preerogative. If that is their own belief system and they believe that animals are more important than humans and should be saved, then far-be-it from me to try and stop them. All I have to say, is more power to you, and good luck.
On October 21, 2006, I lost not only my dog, Cal, but also my best friend in the entire world. It's actually ironic that this topic came up now, because the one year anniversary of the death of my dog is approaching. Cal was a tan cocker spaniel with the cutest curly ears. My family loves baseball, so we named Cal after Cal Ripken Jr. Cal was like a brother to me, and the relationship that we shared is somehow unexplainable. I felt as if he carried with him a sense of loyalty that always comforted me, and his companionship made me feel reassured. Losing him truly created a soft spot in my heart for animals, and I believe that the fight to save all the ones being killed is to our worlds greatest benefit. Although animals do not literally have a voice to speak and communitcate with, they do contain the power to get their point across in numerous other ways. In my opinion, the most effective way to extract feelings from any living species is to look in their eyes. The eyes have a distinct way of displaying the truth in not only human beings, but animals as well. They, too, are capable of showing emotions such as sadness, lonliness, and pain. Owning a dog all of my life, it is simple to understand that being able to understand eachother became the most treasured part of our relationship, and the thing that I miss most about having him. Animal activists are certainly doing their good deed as citizens on our planet, and their time consumed in fighting for the lives of our precious animals is aprreciated greatly not only by animal lovers, but the animals themselves. Animals played and continue to play a crucial role in our society. Not only do they serve as companions and pets to a majority of the world, but help to discover so much new information about nature and assist humans in work as well. Their existance has revealed so many benefits, why would anyone have the urge to kill them? Animals deserve the exact same rights as humans, considering they are living species with feelings just as we are. Animals have served us so many good purposes, and whether we recognize it or not, life would not have half of the advancements without their existance.
In response to Joanna's post, I am not a vegetarian either, and in fact, probably eat meat every day of my life. However, my view on saving animals from dying without a cause does not change by considering my eating habbits. When it comes down to it, all animals deserve the right to live a free and blissful life, without having the fear of possibly being killed. It may seem hypocritical, but I do not see the need to kill any type of animal whether it is used for food source or not. Society as followed the traditions of eating animals for thousands and thousands of years. Although it will unfortunately never end, these poor animals should get the opportunity to be heard and live their life without being brutally slaughtered by humans.
I am totally with you about stricter animal cruelty penalties. I am an owner of a cat which is considered a part of my family. His name has a very interesting story to it. He was found as a stray at where I work. It's not uncommon to encounter strays at a restaurant but this little one had something different about him. He continued to come back to the restaurant night after night so many people grew a liking for him. All this was taking place during the triumph time of Smarty Jones (the horse who won all those races). The name got thrown around a lot because of the horse’s success, so one day we decided to name him Smarty Jones. Within a few days it broke my mom’s heart to see a cat live out in the wild so we decided to take him home. The name totally fit, he runs buck wild throughout the house day in and day out. Smarty and I do have a form of communication. He has grown to understand my routine in the morning and knows exactly where to be if he needs something. I know this because if he needs food or water hell plop himself down on the stairs in my path to the kitchen. If he needs to go out I get the infamous rubbing against my leg. I swear that my cat watches TV, if a good show is on hell forget about anything and just stare, its amazing.
People that spend their time fighting for animals; all the power to you. There's nothing more courageous then dedicating your life to speaking out against the weak. I wouldn't go ahead and say these activist are wasting their time because if that’s their beliefs then what’s wrong with that? Human beings have a voice, we can defend for ourselves. Until seals in Canada start marching outside of Ottawa with picket signs, somebody needs to do it for them. Animals do have rights; anything on this earth that breathes and is living should the same treatment. I am not saying we shouldn’t eat animals (as bad as the sounds) but there apart of our food chain just like some animals are apart of other animals food chain. We need to be one with the animals and stop and realize that hunting them just for a stupid coat isn't right.
I liked the approach that Gretchen took on this issue. She saw the complete other side to things. I can see where she is coming from about who cares what is going on with an animal when we are neck deep in our own problems but I think she needs to see that peoples lives are dedicated to animals. People spend each waking moment caring, fighting, and spending time with animals just as if some body was dedicated to a certain religion. I honestly think if Gretchen (I laugh typing that) had a pet and understood the companionship she would change her thoughts. I do give credit to her though for being completely honest.
I want to start out by saying that I think I have one of the best dogs ever. The story behind him is cute because I had a dog prior to him named Andy and if you knew Andy you knew he was vicious. Now the story behind Andy is sad so I will not go into it but the whole point of me mentioning him is to state the fact that my mom (who is also crazy hehe just kidding) picked out Andy and since we had such misfortune with him we decided I would pick out our next dog. My mom saw an ad in the paper for newborn cairn poo’s who where looking for a home. That very night my mom and me drove over to their house. They were so small and cutely I wanted to get them all. The seller woke them up and let them walk around a little. They were so small that they could still barely walk as we sat around there was one particular pup who caught my eye I picked him up and began calling him white pal since he was the only one in the litter with white on his foot. My mom though liked a small fat one who was quite and scared he was cute too but my heart was set on white pal. Well since I was making the decision we bought white and took him home a week later since we was too young to take when we first bought him. My mom named him Rudy that at first I didn’t like but now I think it’s the cutest thing. I’m glad we didn’t get the fat one because that’s amber’s dog Dakota and he is a wild one but still a good dog nonetheless. My mom just randomly came up with the name because she likes it when dogs have real names like Eddie from Frazier. I love my shoo shoo. That’s what I call him sometimes. I do believe that animals have emotions like people do. When Rudy was a baby he cried a lot and that’s most likely because he probably missed his littermates and parents. I did my best to make Rudy feel secure with us my mom went so far to have one of my friends watch him on the weekend before the play and she knew that he would be home by himself for a long time. For a while she felt bad about leaving him at home. Animals also can love Rudy gives kisses all the time and loves to be right where you are. When he does something bad like tear up a shoe or pee on the floor and he knows he is not suppose to do that when he sees he is caught he runs away with his tail in between his legs and hides. We rarely if ever hit Rudy it if we do is a little smack on the butt. The main reason we don’t hit Rudy is not only because it’s wrong but also because he is very sensitive I guess and everything scares him. Like I’m not lying he is afraid of anything that’s in the tub under water. He usually will peek over the edge and as soon as he sees something moving he’ll run back and start barking. But just because I’m talking about dogs doesn’t mean I don’t think all other animals have feelings too I just can relate more to a dog. ALL animals have feelings regardless of what some will try to tell you. They are living mammals that breath in oxygen like us so why can’t they have emotions. They all show emotions between their mates and their young. My mom’s boyfriend always laughs at my mom and I when we talk to Rudy but I do believe animals do understand when you talk to them. He knows how to communicate with us too not in words of course but if he is thirsty and his bowl is empty he’ll scratch on it to let us know. I felt so bad today watching falcon TV and seeing those heartless people savagely club those seals. That really broke my heart to see that that brings me to the next part about whether or not animals should or have rights. And yes they do amber listed many different rights and I agree with every single one I also agree with her and Joanna when they say that people should not be allowed to by animals unless they can afford them. Animal rights and the punishment should be increased. If you kill an animal it should be almost as strict if not equal with that of killing a human they are both living breathing creature with emotions and responsibilities. Things like seal clubbing should not still be occurring in these times. Activists need to work harder to ensure that wild animals are protected as much as wild animals. If things are allowed to continue as they are then the animals species will eventually deplete and completely die off. But for some reason the only animal I don’t feel bad for is the chicken. Not birds’ just chickens. That’s not fair but I don’t really have compassion for them unless it’s a chick.
OK... i have alot of pets. Two Jackrussels, Penny and Spanky, wo cats, Sebastion and Peewee, a bunch of fish in the pond in my back yard, a turtle, and a snake named Ruby. Of course all of the pets aren't mine but shared by our family. Truly i don't know exactly how my dogs we named the way they were just that they fit the name. For example, Spanky, to me, sounds like a name that would be sort of mischeivous and he is that for sure. He is definitely a coward on the total opposite side of that thought. Now that i think about it Spanky may be a favorite slightly over Penny, and from my experiences animals definitely have human like emotions and traits. For instance, when i start giving Penny attention Spanky will come over and try to get in on the action, to me that expresses his jealousy.
Animals can communicate with humans and between eachother. The easiest example is shown when they need to go outside and nugde you to get up and open the door. They can communicate that they feel threatened by growling, and also curl up and scurry away when theyre scared. My dogs can also be flirty. When theyre just sitting in their basket, Penny will start licking Spanky's ear or he'll nudge her and gnaw on her neck. It is very important that animals are able to communicate with us because that enables us to develop relationships with them and a mutual attachment results from that.
People have different passions. Obviously the people in animal activist groups have passion for animals. I dont think theyre wasting their time by protecting animal rights and promoting animal rights education, but some things they do are ridiculous. Some radical groups go out pouring paint on fur coats, others criticize people for eating meat. Now that the coat is ruined, the activist made the animal die for no reason. With meat, the animal is already dead so you might as well eat it otherwise, again, it will have died for no reason.
Animals surely have rights. Agreeing with Darrell, i'd have to say animals are given god given rights to enjoy kind treatment, but yes it can be excessive in some cases. This is very apparent in celebrities. Paris Hilton's dog has had im sure thousands of dollars spent on it. That is as darrell said "superfluous". Instead of spending all of that money on your dog who only needs maybe a thousand dollars every few years, and thats being gratuitous, give it to a charitable cause so taht some of your fellow human beings can have food in their stomachs. Now how an animal is treated is totally up to the owner starting with basic necessities. I have no problem with giving your dog some nice gifts and toys and a nice basket or bed, but "pimping" out your dog is ridiculous.
I guess I should actually start this blog now and stop procrastinating. Yes I do have a pet. Well not just a pet, more like four. My sister has a snake, but I’m not including that cause its hers haha. I have two cats and two dogs. Unfortunately they are all at my dads house and I don’t get to see them as much as I would like to. The cats are Pumpkin and Mittens. Pumpkin is a calico and I was two when I got her. I remember naming her pumpkin because she was very orange when she was a kitten. She was rescued off the side of the road by one of my mom’s friends. She was emaciated and near death. We nursed her back to health and ever since I had a close bond with her. This blog is making me sad now because Pumpkin just passed away. :-‘( . Anyways. Mittens is what my mom calls a tuxedo cat cause it looks like she is wearing a black and white tuxedo because of her markings. My sister named her because both of her paws are white. She’s more of my sisters but I still love her and her stupid self. My dogs names are Max and Minnie. I got Max as a birthday present when I was 5 so I don’t really remember the reasoning of 5 year old me, so I don’t know why I named him Max. Max is an Australian Cattle dog and is a SPEED demon. Minnie is the newest addition to the family. We got her two summers ago on the fourth of July so my sister wanted to call her Liberty. She’s a mutt. That obviously changed. I noticed that on her back, three of her spots conjoined to form the shape of Mickey Mouse, but since she was a girl her name became Minnie. All of them know when something is wrong and try to console me. I think its like a 6th sense or something. Animals can like always tell when something is wrong whether its with the weather or with a person.
I believe almost every animal can be communicated with in some way or another. My cats come when I say “here kitty kitty”, something I did when I was like 2 and it just stuck, and my dogs listen to certain commands as well such as Sit, come, lay down, house, as well as many others. They can definitely communicate with us. When they are barking or scratching at the door they want to go outside usually to go to the bathroom.
I totally agree with Jo when she said, “I don't think the animal rights activists are wasting their time. It seems like there's two kinds of pet owners in the world... the ones like my family who treat their pet as a part of the family, and the owners that treat animals as property or objects and abuse them.” Like Jo, I do not feel that the animal activists are wasting their time. I know that baby seals are not pets, but after watching that horribly graphic video on falcon tv today I’m glad that there are people out there lobbying for their rights as well as the rights of other animals. They are trying to keep these pets from going through torture and abuse. They don’t deserve it. Nothing or no one does. If a human did the things that animal abusers and seal killers do to animals on another human being, they would be given the death penalty for the atrocity. The activists are in no way wasting their time because like I said there are animals out there getting killed and abused for no reason that do not deserve to be. Animals do have rights and although they can’t vote or anything like that they have the right to be treated as we would want to be treated ourselves. They have the right to eat and have shelter. The right to be given the things they need to comfortably survive. Also agree with Jo when she said that you need to be able to afford to have a pet. It’s not fair to the pet if you can not afford to feed them because they need to eat too. I don’t think there is a limit for what rights animals have. Sometimes people get a bit excessive with their pets, but it is all out of love. They are trying to spoil their pet like their own kin, there own child per say. I love my pets and although not all people still consider dogs “man’s best friend”, I consider my pets to be “my best friends”.
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