Re: [pyrnet] Anthromorphizing animals

["Linda Weisser" <lmweisser@attbi.com>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Susan Christensen" <sue@hoodel.com>

I want to thank Sue for this sane and rational discussion of what I always
see as a really hot button issue.

<<So, is how you treat your animals in part how your parents treated
theirs?>>

Possibly, but probably more about how the dogs of your childhood were
treated.  We had two collies.  Lived on a farm.  They were always loose
during the day and allowed in the house each evening to visit with the
family.  My dad built them a wonderful big run with a dog house and sleeping
platform and they were always kenneled at night (His treat was to give each
of them a Lorna Doone shortbread cookie as part of the to bed ritual) and
they were always kenneled when we were away from home.  My Dad "loved" the
dogs, but more than that, he understood them and respected them as dogs.

<<Your psychological makeup/needs?  >>

This may have some bearing but it is probably stronger for some people than
others.

<<A function of how many
others you have?>>

This I think is very true.  I have 5 cats at the moment and 12 dogs (and 1
goose and 3 sheep !!) not all of which are here permanently.  My ideal dog
number would be 6 or so, but I am having a very hard time holding to that.
I like some of my dogs better than others.  Many, many years ago I lost a
treasured bitch at 10 years old to a tragic accident and if I let myself
relive that, the tears still come.  But I didn't then and surely don't now
feel that she was irreplaceable.  Each dog is different, special, an
individual.  And if you have a lot of dogs over a long number of years, you
have probably euthanized more of them than you want to think about.  And yet
life goes on, another (s) come along and in the end, they die too.  We learn
to deal with it somehow.  It's the round of life and reality.  And it is an
extraordinary lesson for children.

<<  Whether you have kids at home? Am I likely to be
more involved with my guys (Anthromorphing) when my kids grow up and
move away? >>

Didn't happen to me.  I raised all my kids with my dogs and now they are all
gone and I am not more dependant upon the dogs.

 <<Or does that also have to do with how many activities one
involves oneself with (outside pet related activities like showing,
etc. which can reinforce anthromorphing sometimes).>>

I suppose that some forms of pet activities may lead to anthropomorphizing
but the people that I know who show are among the *least* likely to get
caught in that trap.  I enjoy the dog activities because they allow me to be
with my friends in an activity that engages our minds and our emotions.  The
dogs are, in some odd way, the excuse.  I have met many wonderful people
because of the dogs and they will be my friends if all the dogs disappear
tomorrow.

<< Also, if you are
married, is one of you more likely to anthromorph than the other?>>

Not in my family but that probably also varies.

For me dogs are not human, not even barely.  They are different beings.  Not
us.  It is one of those things that makes them so amazing and interesting to
live with.  They have their own reactions, needs, responses that arise from
them being *dogs* and not pseudo humans.  It is a rare privilege to share
life and space with another species.  I am adding here my favorite quote
that speaks to what I feel:


||| Notes from The Outermost House
by Henry Beston

....For the animal shall not be measured by the man. In a world older and
more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with
extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we
shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are
other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow
prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth. |||

Linda