I’m in the second camp. I love my dog. I love my cat. I have no human children, but having gotten both pets in the past year, after ten years of no pets, I feel a definite shift in myself, potentially similar (?) to how a person feels when they become a parent. Examples:

Dogs and humans evolved alongside each other, though. Our brains have adapted to understand each other. It is a centuries old companionship unlike any other inter-species relationship. We would not be here without dogs, and they would not be here without us. I think a dog is different from a rabbit or a snake or even…

When My older bro died I couldn’t bear to see anyone but my dog. He helped me grieve when I just couldn’t be around people and family.

And then there are the people who find out your beloved dog (and sometimes only friend/companion/family) died and give you the same sympathy they’d offer if you lost your hair tie.

I think I’m somewhere in between. So I guess no, I don’t think there is that one stark division. I think it’s a continuum.

I’m somewhere between you and the furbaby people. My dog is a member of the family, he sleeps in our bed and we do celebrate his birthday (not with a party but usually with a steak we get just for him). But he doesn’t go to daycare and I’ve never heard of a naming ceremony. He is often the focal point of our home, we…

For some people, the loss of a pet can be worse. That pet is there every day, and has seen you at your worse. Some family members aren’t. While my pet is not a human, she is a member of my family and has provided me with support when human members of my family haven’t.

I think it’s wrong to treat animals as property. They are living creatures that experience joy and fear, they aren’t a table. So I do think it’s wrong to act like you can do whatever the fuck you want with them because they’re “property”

I’m a labor and delivery nurse. I’ve had many, many experiences caring for pregnant women in shackles... I can’t begin to describe how relieved and happy I am about this