Three-quarters of the billion dogs on the planet are not pets. A new book argues that they are more than strays and may tell us much about the nature of dogs.
Source: The World Is Full of Dogs Without Collars – The New York Times
If you don’t want pets you must not like animals. That’s what people assume when I talk about pet free. I must either not like them or actually hate them.
Far from the truth.
I do like animals and that is why I don’t like animals as pets. Animals as pets risk becoming strays, unwanted pets.
I don’t know what the statistics are for each place or area of the world but, I would not be surprised if for every pet there is also a stray animal somewhere. I don’t think that is proof of love of animals or pets. I think that is cruel.
So I don’t keep pets. I did have pets as a child. We lived not far from the highway in a suburban area. There were lots of strays, abandoned along the highway. Some would come to the house(s) and others would not make it that far. The highway is not a good place for newborn, pregnant or old cats and dogs.
If I did keep animals it would be cats, barn cats living mostly wild in a rural area. I love cats you see. But, I hate seeing them trapped indoors by their "loving owners". Allergies and asthma are a factor for not having indoor pets for me. But, I’d still rather have a wild, feral cat over a housecat.
Anyway, I wish people who love animals could be less selfish. If you really don’t want the full time care of an animal for the next 20+ years don’t make them your pet. Stuffed animals will give you unconditional love and they don’t suffer when you want to dispose of them. Virtual pets can be unplugged. Real animals die.