Pet Free

Pet free is about animal related issues and ideas: pet friendly, pet ownership, feral animals, alternative pets, animal rights, service animals, exotic pets, and so on.

Important to me is having respect for pets and people. This includes the pet friendly issue. I am against public places being pet friendly. Public places should be for people first. Including people who don’t like pets, people who are afraid of pets and people who are allergic to pets. It is easier to keep public places pet free than people free, especially in the case of commercial places like stores and restaurants.

This is about being pet free and giving a voice to people who choose not to keep pets and/ or don’t agree with having pets in public places.

Also, consider the option of plants instead of animals as pets.

Should you wonder… I am not pet friendly but I do like animals.

There are 77 posts filed in Pet Free (this is page 4 of 8).

Gary Dahl, Inventor of the Pet Rock, Dies at 78 – The New York Times

The wonder of it was, for a few frenzied months in 1975, more than a million consumers did, becoming the proud if slightly abashed owners of Pet Rocks, the fad that Newsweek later called “one of the most ridiculously successful marketing schemes ever.”Gary Dahl, the man behind that scheme — described variously as a marketing genius and a genial mountebank — died on March 23 at 78. A down-at-the-heels advertising copywriter when he hit on the idea, he originally meant it as a joke. But the concept of a “pet” that required no actual work and no real commitment resonated with the self-indulgent ’70s, and before long a cultural phenomenon was born.A modern incarnation of “Stone Soup” as stirred by P. T. Barnum, Pet Rocks made Mr. Dahl a millionaire practically overnight. Though the fad ran its course long ago, the phrase “pet rock” endures in the American lexicon, denoting (depending on whether it is uttered with contempt or admiration) a useless entity or a meteoric success.PhotoEach Pet Rock came in a cardboard carrying case, complete with air holes, tenderly nestled on a bed of excelsior. Credit Al Freni/The LIFE Images Collection, via Getty ImagesBut despite the boon Pet Rocks brought him, Mr. Dahl came to regret the brainstorm that gave rise to them in the first place.Mr. Dahl’s brainstorm began, as many do, in a bar.One night in the mid-’70s, he was having a drink in Los Gatos, the Northern California town where he lived for many years. At the time, he was a freelance copywriter (“that’s another word for being broke,” he later said), living in a small cabin as a self-described “quasi dropout.”The bar talk turned to pets, and to the onus of feeding, walking and cleaning up after them.His pet, Mr. Dahl announced in a flash of bibulous inspiration, caused him no such trouble. The reason?“I have a pet rock,” he explained.A pet rock, Mr. Dahl quickly realized, might just have legs.“People are so damn bored, tired of all their problems,” he told People magazine in 1975. “This takes them on a fantasy trip — you might say we’ve packaged a sense of humor.”He recruited two colleagues as investors, visited a building-supply store and bought a load of smooth Mexican beach stones at about a penny apiece.The genius was in the packaging. Each Pet Rock came in a cardboard carrying case, complete with air holes, tenderly nestled on a bed of excelsior. Mr. Dahl’s droll masterstroke was his accompanying manual on the care, feeding and house training of Pet Rocks.“If, when you remove the rock from its box it appears to be excited, place it on some old newspapers,” the manual read. “The rock will know what the paper is for and will require no further instruction. It will remain on the paper until you remove it.”Pet Rocks hit the marketplace in time for Christmas 1975. They were soon featured on “The Tonight Show” and in a blizzard of newspaper articles. In a matter of months, some 1.5 million rocks were sold.

Source: Gary Dahl, Inventor of the Pet Rock, Dies at 78 – The New York Times

Big Cats Should Not be Bred in Little Cages

I was watching the episodes of Snow Leopards of Leafy London, about the National Cat Trust, with Dr. Terry Moore in the UK. Although its great to see someone taking in cats who have no where else to go. In the end, they are living in captivity for however long they live. Not able to have space, hunt, and live a feral life. He also breeds them. It wasn’t clear if he also lets the domestic cats breed too. The Trust takes in domestic homeless cats as well as the big cats. I hope the Trust works on some version of the neuter and release idea.

The series was made awhile ago and I wondered what became of the cats, especially the snow leopards which were featured, and the Trust. I found the website, not really updated since 2013 it seems to me. I didn’t see any updates about the snow leopard release project with India which was talked about often in the films. There is some project based in Argentina.

Also, interesting, was to find that his wife was part of things, one of the trustees for the organization. But, she was never mentioned in the films. If she were there, she wasn’t given credit for her work.

I found reviews on the TripAdvisor site, which made the Trust seem overwhelmed. Not enough volunteers to look after the place. Also, no visitors due to restrictions. That may be changed now, but it was only for sponsors/ members of the Trust. Not a bad thing, no doubt they need the funds. Feeding big cats would be expensive.

I posted this as a comment on Facebook:

I don’t think any of these kept cats can go back to the wild. Even if a habitat could be found for them. These cats have had an indolent lifestyle. They will have hunting instincts but no practice. So they will not have the skills or the muscles built up to take care of themselves without someone feeding them dead carcasses. So they will look for humans to feed them, leaving the wild areas and likely end up being shot by people who are afraid of big cats approaching them. It’s really sad to see these cats being bred in captivity to live their lives in small spaces, never having space to roam and be wild.

I love cats of all sizes. But, I think it is very misled to breed them in cat farms like this. Without a sure place to release them into the wild and a lifestyle which keeps them fit and skilled (and not relying on humans to feed them) there isn’t real hope for these cats to live anywhere but in concrete with a little patch of grass. Cats need to wander and roam and hunt. Even domestic cats will have a territory (unless they are kept indoors all their lives).

It would be very hard, if not impossible, to have these kept cats able to adapt and live in their natural home now. They’ve adapted to our environment, our culture, pollution, schedule, etc. Like being a tourist in another country, they would not know the local culture, the language and the ways of the other big cats who were born to the wild life in that area. They would not know what to eat when seasons change and prey migrate or change their habits. They won’t know or have natural defenses from other animals, insects, and diseases.

Their ancestors could be from that area but it would be culture shock for them to be dropped into a new place and left to learn how to survive. Having eaten dead meat all their lives, is it possible they would only look along roadways and other places they could smell roadkill and dead animals. Are their bodies able to live that way, deal with the parasites and such which they would pick up from dead meat versus the freshly killed animals they would eat naturally.

I wish the Cat Trust well but I think the project is really Terry Moore and volunteers making friends and pets out of these cats. Cats can be great pets, but not every cat should be kept as a pet.

Trying to give them a better life is a great ambition, but breeding them is selfish not selfless. There is no natural selection when females are forced to be bred/ pregnant every few months or every year with whatever male is closed in with them.

Not every female will want to be having batches of kittens constantly. I’ve seen domestic cats abandon new born kittens because they did not want them. I’m sure that must happen with big cats too.

Kept big cats do not live a natural, healthy, active life. Are they physically strong enough to have kittens? Being pampered and inactive means these big cats may not have the strength and stamina for pregnancy and birth. They are not exposed to conditions which toughen wild big cats, including bacteria, which they build immunity to. They just don’t make pet happy documentaries about any of these things.

I don’t think this will end well. Other places like this have failed, had to close. The cats are left homeless when shelters can’t be found for all of them. When there are reports about big cats wandering and hunting in rural and suburban areas, its likely true. How many of them are cats which grew up in zoos/farms which had to close and let the cats out of their cages rather than euthanizing them. It is not a kindness to breed cats, or any animal, just to hoard them in captivity.

My Idea – Fast Food Happy Meals for Pets

Fast food restaurants should begin serving happy meals for pets.

People seem to be having less human children and more pets. Some call themselves their pet’s parent. (I have never called myself the parent of an animal). People seem to need to keep their pets with them and bring them in the car. So, why don’t fast food restaurants have a happy meal for cats, another for dogs, one for assorted other pets like snakes, gerbils, rats, etc.

Likely the pet people would love this. Pets get thirsty and hungry too. Shopping trips, road trips, or just feeling like some hot French fries… why not also treat your pet?

On the plus side for restaurants (and people like myself who don’t want pets in stores), the pet stays in the vehicle. No one gets bitten, has asthma or allergies and there is no poo to scoop – but pet mommies and daddies can give their animal a pet fast food treat while they have their own people fast food.

Start planning the packaging.

Keep Plants Instead of Pets

Get plant friendly.

Plants don’t destroy clothing or furniture, they don’t bite, drool or bark. You don’t need a bag to pick up their poop if you take them on a walk. You don’t need to take plants to the vet.

Plants can smell wonderful. You can eat some of them, if you choose. Plants are green, real living things, and stay right where you put them. You can take day trips, or longer, and not worry about what your plants have done while you were away. Plants recycle carbon dioxide into air you can breathe. Plants are easy to recycle. You can talk to plants in any language.

You don’t need a "green thumb" to be an indoor gardener. Some research into the plants that will grow well in your space, indoors, is important and will help a lot with your success rate. Usually, plants like a sunny, south facing window. If you don’t have a sunny spot look into shade plants, the ones that tend to grow under trees. But, most don’t want all day sun, which isn’t a problem as our planet revolves around the sun and no window I’ve seen has full sun glaring in all day. Some plants like extra water, some very little and watering will depend on the season. Some plants like rich soil and some thrive better in poor dirt (but not dirt from outside for indoor plants – an insect issue).

You can bring a wild (feral) plant home, they don’t bite.

You can start with a small herb garden in a window. Or, if there is a plant you really like, try it. Look for houseplants, indoor garden plants and container gardens online and see what other people are doing. You might find a local group of indoor gardeners and see what they grow. Even indoors, some plants work better than others depending on your location. Starting in Spring is generally better. Most plants are dormant over winter so don’t set yourself up for discouragement. Plan in winter, plant in spring.

If you want to spend money on your plants, look for pretty, unique, artsy pots to keep them in. Upgrade to something fancy each time you repot your plant or use something you find at the thrift store like an old teapot. Repotting doesn’t have to be messy or troublesome (garden gloves are a good idea for cactus plants) put down newspaper or a plastic bag to collect dirt and the odd bit of root or leaf that goes astray. There are plants which like being potbound/ rootbound (left in the same pot as they grow).

The proclivity humans have towards plants is certainly not unique to the millennial generation: Houseplants are a concept that is believed to have originated in ancient Greece and Rome as early as 500 BC and in China as early as 200 CE. After all, the first imagined paradise on Earth was the Garden of Eden.

A well-cultivated plant can far outlive even our beloved pets, and can propagate more plants and literally grow alongside you and your family. “I think about the plants that are in my childhood home, and most of them are actually older than I am,” Blank reflects. “Plants have a weird connection to time. There’s a plant in my parent’s home that was propagated from my grandparents’ home and that plant has given life to plants in my friends’ homes, and there’s something so magical about that. This is why I find plants so compelling.”

Source – Why are more millennials buying into plant parenthood?

On a side note, the parent thing bothers me. I am never going to be a parent to an animal (non-human) or a plant. I don’t even want to be. Animals are not children, they grow up to be adult animals and it seems really needy to call yourself the parent of an animal that should have the respect of being an adult, a creature capable of managing it’s own life. We make animals/pets dependent, which is not at all the role of a good parent. You could say the same about indoor plants, but, they don’t seem to suffer for it as much as the animals do.

Animals Are Not Pests, or Pets

I found this on a site about bats. I think this applies to all animals and plants too, people should be giving animals, plants and nature in general space. Why do people want to control everything?

Text version of the image:

BatsRule – just because you can’t touch it, cuddle it, control it, profit from it, doesn’t mean its useless, ugly or a pest.

Is It Ethical to Keep Pets?

People may feel sorry for farm animals contained in a small space without any natural environment but they seldom consider the life of the animals kept as pets. Pets, people want to believe, like the life with their owners. I don’t think they really do.

Not matter how many indoor conveniences made for a cat, they don’t get to hunt, wander over a large territory (especially at night) and choose when they want to give or receive affection. Dogs get taken for walks. But, dogs really want to run for miles, and walking or jogging with a human owner isn’t even close to the speed and distance a dog would enjoy if they were not someone’s pet. When pets attack, become unhealthy (fat) I feel sorry for them. Without freedom to be the animal they are, pets are slaves to human owners.

Lets talk about pet breeding and pet hoarding. Pets are not able to give consent to their ownership. They are unable to ask for different or better care and conditions. All of this becomes a bigger issue with exotic pets, animals not even natural to our part of the world and those who live in water, or fly in the air, hide underground, in long grass, etc. most of their lives. We take animals out of their natural lives and turn them into pets, without their consent.

The institution of pet-keeping is fundamentally unjust as it involves the manipulation of animals’ bodies, behaviours and emotional lives. For centuries, companion animal’s bodies (particularly dogs, horses and rabbits) have been shaped to suit human fashions and fancies. And this often causes these animals considerable physical harm.

Social workers further recognise the powerful link between pet abuse and the abuse of children and women in domestic settings. The idea that it is acceptable to manipulate the bodies and minds of a vulnerable group to suit the interests of more privileged groups is consistent with the cultural logic of oppression.

Through this forced dependency and domestication, the lives of companion animals are almost completely controlled by humans. They can be terminated at any time for the most trivial of reasons – including behavioural “problems”, for belonging to a stereotyped breed, or the owner’s inability (or unwillingness) to pay for veterinary treatment.

Sociologists typically study prisons, asylums and other physical spaces as examples. But I believe pet-keeping constitutes a sort of dispersed “total institution”. This is because nonhuman animals are unnaturally forced under human authority, restrained, and re-socialised. True consent is not possible under such conditions. Animals are groomed to participate and those who are unable to follow the rules of human social life are likely to be punished – sometimes fatally.

I really agree with her post and her points. I wish people would stop thinking of pets along the lines of cute stuffed animals to play with.

I Like Animals but I am Not Pet Friendly

I don’t think people should keep pets. It’s a bigger issue than just that. This site is going to be about not having pets or forcing animals on other people in public, like retail stores. Also, I do like animals so this is not a tirade against them at all. I disagree with owning animals just as I disagree with the idea of owning people.

I strongly believe in stewardship of the planet, caring for our Earth and the living things upon it. But, we do not (should not) think we own any of it. The Earth will be just fine, maybe better, if we all just disappeared. Making pets of animals has not really done them any favours.

Also, I am very against the idea of "pet friendly". Indoors should be people friendly first and pets should not be forced upon other people who do not appreciate them, have asthma/ allergies or may be afraid of your darling little pet. Why are almost all pets being brought into public places only dogs? If someone brought a pet boa constrictor or hairy spider into these pet friendly places would they still be quite so pet friendly?

Are Pets Killed Kindly?

Millions of pets are killed (euthanized) in pet shelters every year. According to the Rachael Ray site 3 to 4 million are killed in shelters every year, in the US.

What I don’t hear people talking about is how they are killed. First, are they frightened? Do they have a sense of impending doom? I think it’s likely. Of course, some of those killed will be for health reasons, they were hit by cars, abandoned and sick, old, etc. Some will be killed just because there are too many other pets in the shelter with a better chance of getting adopted.

Secondly, how much does it cost to euthanize an unwanted pet? Then, who pays for it? Shelters run on donations, mainly. Who pays for all those unwanted pets to be "taken care of"?

Reconsider a living pet. A living Christmas tree is one thing, a living animal has more needs and isn’t just seasonal or young and smelling good forever.