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I Am A Woman not a Pet Parent
Increasingly, in my various reading of dog related articles, I find myself
referred to as 'pet parent' or 'pet guardian'. I don't care for that.
I'm a woman. I am not my dogs' mother, I'm not their parent. I'm not some
freak of Nature, haven't given birth to dogs or cats or any other pets.
While they do have parents, I am not one of them. Their fathers know nothing
of their existence, having been no more than sperm donors. Their mothers
would not only not recognize them if they saw them but would quite possibly
offer to mate with them, or fight them for food. While all of this may be de
rigeur in some strata of human society it does not fit into commonly
accepted human norms. To be designated 'pet parent' diminishes the concept
of parenthood.
I am not a pet guardian. Guardianship implies oversight by someone else, a
third party who sets rules of conduct and care with which I have to comply.
I make my own decisions about my dealings with my dogs according to my
conscience and the values I hold which govern my interactions with
living things. I guard my dogs' welfare to the very high standards I've set
but I am not their guardian.
I am their owner. They are my property. I can sell them at will. I can store
them in crates. I can sterilize them, or not. I can show them off. I can
treat them and feed them any way I chose to.
Parenthood and guardianship bestow rights to that which is being parented or
guarded. The guardian of an estate, for instance, has to make sure that the
contractual provisions of the estate, its rights, are being met. Parents
speak for their children in defense and support of
those children's rights.
Dogs don't have rights; neither do trees or rocks or crocodiles. Rights are
a human concept. Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness: Those are the
basic human rights. Dog ownership requires of moral people that we do all we
can to protect our animals' lives, offer them as much liberty as is safe for
them, and do what we can to help them be happy.
By allowing ourselves to be called pet parents and pet guardians we are
giving consent to abide by a standard of conduct set for us by others.
Animal Rights groups and politicians are queuing up everywhere to limit our
rights as property owners. They tell us that we must neuter our pets. That
we may not keep them confined in kennels and crates. They limit where and
how we can travel with our property. They make demands on and regulate our
ownership and thusly whittle away at our rights.
Primary cultural change is often insidious. It seeps into our consciousness
gently, slowly and with great subtlety until we've bought into it without
ever having noticed. Like high fructose corn syrup, it pervades. We do it,
here, on our e-mail list. We talk about our fur kids, mommy and daddy doing
this or that with them, we proclaim that they're our children. They are
not.They're our dogs. We are their owners.
It's time for a reality check.
Shirley Irwin Meadowland Beagles
http://www.meadowlandbeagles.com
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