What separates the REAL pet lovers from the pet owners....

[shais_mom]

I apologize first off that I didn't read the beginning of the thread - will do that later- I looked at popcornbirds post and kay's post and I was inspired to post. I don't dress my dog up, unless you count a bandana as dressing up. I don't give my pets parties. I might give them an extra treat on their birthday. If I forget it isn't the end of their world.
My pets are my children. Just b/c I don't have human children doesn't make me less of a person. Less of a woman, less of a human. Do I get offended when people imply these things? you betcha.

You know what? I don't believe people throwing parties for their pets, buying them presents, singing 'happy birthday' to them are doing anything special for their PETS. Why? Because the pet doesn't understand. The human does. It doesn't make the pet happy. Pets don't know when its their birthday, nor do they care. All they know is "Yippee...I got a special treat! Yum!" The owners are not doing it to make their pet happy, even though they may believe that. In reality, doing these little 'spoiling things' for the pet is making the pet's humans happy. People do it for 'their' happiness. The pet would get happy if it got an extra treat on any day. Its similar to someone giving a 3 month old a lovely gift. The baby doesn't understand, but it makes the parents happy.

I don't do any of those things for my pets. My pets are birds, and thus, cannot sleep on my bed. I am too scared of rolling on them at night...however, if I had a cat, I would allow it to sleep in the bed with me. I would not do any of the other things listed. Does that mean I don't love my pets? Absolutely not! I buy them treats and toys whenever I feel like it. It doesn't have to be on a particular day. They don't need a party...that would upset them, not make them happy. I just find doing some things for pets ridiculous. Why do animals need to wear costumes, or get 10 toys every birthday? These things make their owners happy. I doubt there's any animal out there who ENJOYS dressing up. It makes their owners happy, so they do it for their happiness. Animals are animals. They are not children. They will never be children. And even though we love them like babies, (I do too), the fact is, they're not. They're our beloved pets, and should be treated that way. Likewise, a child should not be treated like a pet.

If I wanted to have a party for my cats and dog so be it but to call it ridiculous is just plain rude. That said on the dog whisperer a couple weeks ago even I rolled my eyes over the lady whose name was Kitten and her dog that was dyed PINK named Kisses. now That is going a bit far!