I used to think that the world could be divided into two types of people: dog people and cat people. But that was when I was a dog owner. Now I've stepped back from that world and I see, in fact, that the division is between pet owners and non-pet owners.
By pets, I don't mean horses (which are more like a second car), or snakes and fish and birds (which are just bric-a-brac), or rabbits (which, let's be frank, are dinner). No, the real pet people are the dog and cat owners.
Sometimes, I wonder if these pet owners are not a little bit confused about their animals. Here's a recent conversation:
Cat Owner: My cat is more like a dog.
Me: Why don't you get rid of it?
CO: Because I love him.
Me: But if he's like a dog, why not just get a dog?
CO: I don't like dogs.
Me: But you love your cat that's like a dog?
And dog owners do that, too. You can imagine the conversation:
Dog Owner: My dog thinks she's a person.
Me: Why don't you get rid of it Well, you can imagine where that is going.
And there does seem to be a hierarchy of sorts implied in these conversations, with cats at the bottom and humans at the top. Rarely will you get a dog owner claiming his pet is like a cat, except disparagingly. They are always striving up to humanness. And by "bragging" that their cats are dog-like, cat owners suggest that they are better.
Occasionally, you will find a cat owner who completely jumps the dog thing and claims the cat is a person-like. Never have I heard a parent claim, though, that her child is like a dog or a cat.
And all of this doesn't really matter except that there is an inclination for us to empathize more with the plight of animals - especially domesticated ones - than with people. Last year when a Bernese sheepdog was lost on Seymour Mountain, the story got far more news play and raised more public angst than when a 16-year-old snowboarder ends up down some ravine for two days.
We seem to be able to walk by poverty and tragedy among humans and feel next to nothing, but if a dog or cat is left homeless or is mistreated, it becomes a federal case.
I have nothing against pets. Have them and treat them well. But don't ask me to care about them as though they're human.
