When I returned to the US a few years back, I found myself very disapproving of the common American fixation on pets. Many of my friends and relatives were spending vast amounts of money on their pets, even tens of thousands of dollars! Even students, usually among America’s poor, expended great effort and expense in caring for their dogs and cats. Having recently semi-retired from a job in which I regularly travelled to remote areas and saw the shortages that vast numbers of people endured, even expected, I was mildly horrified that such sums would be used for people’s pets. As time has gone on, more and more evidence of the ubiquity of this kind of pet-mania has emerged. I struggled a bit with my own disapproval, disapproval of people whose general morals I found appealing and compatible with my own.
Two things have helped me to moderate my negative attitude: First, I got a cat myself. My mother in law had just died, an event about which my husband and I were quite sad. We were wandering around in an Agway Store in Ithaca, NY that very day, when I was drawn to a very cute little cat in a cage put there by the SPCA. The cat was a small, muted calico/tabby Manx. One touch of her amazingly soft fur and her sweet response to our attention captured my heart. We decided that taking her home would be a soothing poultice for our saddened hearts. I blogged about this at the time (and my amazement at how much it cost to bring her home!). Since that time, my husband and I have become increasingly enamoured of this furry little creature, despite the fact that she sheds white hairs all over the house, requires cat-care when we take a trip, and generally complicates our lives. We revel though in her attachments to us, chuckle at her loud purring, and take comfort from her presence generally. This has given me more empathy for those who spend thousands of dollars on their animals. I still imagine that I would not do so, should the need arise (though I’m not 100% positive I wouldn’t).
The second thought, justifying the American fixation of which I so generally disapprove, came to me recently: I remembered that Americans are among those who consume more than other populations. The statistics do not make us look good. Scientific American reports:
“’A child born in the United States will create thirteen times as much ecological damage over the course of his or her lifetime than a child born in Brazil,’ reports the Sierra Club’s Dave Tilford, adding that the average American will drain as many resources as 35 natives of India and consume 53 times more goods and services than someone from China.”
I am quite sure that there is something in our genetic makeup that urges us to care for living things. Almost all parents love their children; and many care deeply for their aging parents. I reasoned then, if people are programmed to care, then if they lavish this love (and resources) on their pets, rather than on having more children, the overall impact on the Earth is probably less. Perhaps I should be appreciating and encouraging this pattern rather than disapproving of it.
I’m still not entirely convinced by my own affections or logic….