One common phenomenon I see a lot of lately which I strongly disagree with, and which I've touched on in the past and wish to elaborate in detail with here in hopes of clearing up any misunderstandings--our society's overvaluing of pets. In some cases, I hear of people speaking as if their pets are "another one of our children." They say things such as "my pets are my babies" and "my dog is my child just as much as my children with 2 legs instead of 4."
I take very strong exception to such verbiage.
Now, understand, I think some people who say such things aren't literally saying their pet is every bit as important as a child in the larger sense of things and they mean no harm. Certainly there is nothing wrong in & of itself with loving your cat, your dog, your hamster, your rat, whatever your animal of choice. Pets have been shown to be a huge blessing for many people, in some cases even improving a person's mental well being. There is nothing wrong with that.
I would also like to say this--I have no issue with people who are single and/or childless because they don't think parenthood suits them (or they're incapable of having children), yet they still wish for something they can love on and nurture etc. The same goes for people who do have children yet their children are now grown and have left, and they wish for something they can take care of and nurture. As other example, my late father and his wife got a dog together and now that my father has passed his widowed wife, who is largely alone, looks to this dog as a companion and this dog also serves as a reminder of my father, as this dog was a pet they loved together in the context of their marriage. Again, there is nothing wrong with that.
For such people, so long as their animals are well-trained and don't cause grief for others, neighbors especially, and they don't speak of their pets as if they're just as important in the general sense as children are and they understand that society at large will (I hope) always prioritize a child over a pet in situations of conflict, then I see no harm. There are plenty of persons who own pets and realize this, and practice respect for their neighbors, and such people deserve all of the applause in the world and I have no problem with them.
The reason that I don't like people calling their pets their children is because not every pet owner is like this, many are disrespectful to their fellow humans and because, to me, words mean things. Children have always enjoyed a superior position in our society as opposed to pets because they are, after all, children and thus human beings. By someone referring to their pet as their child, I believe they are not just speaking of their natural affection for their pet, they are going one further and advocating that in public situations in society at large their pet should in fact be truly equal to a child and thus have the same legal rights and privileges traditionally enjoyed by a child.
To me, this is highly disrespectful and goes against God's views where He clearly holds that human beings and only human beings are created in his image, and human life is clearly special, set apart and sacred. No pet, no matter how much their owner loves them, deserves the same level of reverence. If a loose dog in the neighborhood is scaring a child, there should be far more concern for the scared child than for the dog being restricted to the indoors. If a barking dog disturbs a neighbor, this needs to be reasonably respected as opposed to the neighbor, who after all is a human being, being told to "suck it up" because of how precious the dog is considered. If a cat puts its paw-prints all over a neighbor's fancy car, the disturbed car owner should not be told how "precious" that cat is and how silly they're being.
Yet, in all too many cases, this is exactly what happens. When a dog is running loose in the neighborhood, parents are told to keep their children inside vs the dog owner being held accountable. Thus, the children aren't able to enjoy the outdoors and "free range" play because of a dog. Yet, if someone were to shoot the dog to keep the children from being harmed, they are at risk of being prosecuted for animal cruelty.
A friend of mine was throwing a birthday party for her daughter at her home and she invited us to attend. We did. I was sickened at what I saw--this young girl age 9 was scolded when she ran in her own yard as any child would do. Why? Because they owned a dog and this dog would "give chase." The child running was considered "enciting" the dog and they were expected to submit to the dog's tendencies. They expected their child to accommodate the dog, and miss out on "free range' play outdoors, rather than expecting their dog via training or physical confinement to accommodate their own child.
I said nothing, but seethed silently. To me, this is borderline child abuse, and I say this as a woefully imperfect parent myself.
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