Pets serve no real purpose, art serves no real purpose, sports cars serve no real purpose, nice underwear serves no real purpose - they don't have to! We have these things around us because we love and admire them - because we can!
I agree. It is one of the marks of an advanced society to have the leisure time to devote to something besides finding food. We don't NEED 99.9% of the things we have. All we really NEED is simple food, water and some rudimentary shelter from the elements. Obviously, we want far, far more than that. Pets being one of the things we want - for companionship, replacing human ties that are lacking, etc.
And as an aside, I frankly don't think someone is somehow a lesser person because they choose not to have pets. Some people are simply not "into" pets. It doesn't make them less kind or less smart or less nice.
Many, many people who grew up on farms or ranches, or in harder times (like the Great Depression) or less affluent countries cannot comprehend the bond some of us have with pets. It doesn't make them "bad", it just means the have a different outlook on things. My parents, for example, and the kindest people you could ever meet. Everyone loves my parents. They are the salt of the earth. Both of them grew up on farms and ranches, where animals had a purpose. They had pets for us kids when we were growing up, but now that all of us have moved out, they don't have any more pets. It's just not their thing. And that's ok.
I don't happen to want a bunch a kids, nor do I gush all over someone's baby at the store. I'm not into kids. My mom is. She LOVES babies, and can't understand why I don't like them. I tell her, "Hey, I love puppies, Mom. I could never walk by a puppy without petting it. You could care less. That's how I feel about babies." One is not right, and one wrong. Some people are "animal people" and some people are "people people". It's all good.
"We give dogs the time we can spare, the space we can spare and the love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It's the best deal man has ever made" - M. Facklam
"We are raised to honor all the wrong explorers and discoverers - thieves planting flags, murderers carrying crosses. Let us at last praise the colonizers of dreams."- P.S. Beagle
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king." - J.R.R. Tolkien
Of course we love many human beings too...........our families, etc., but pets have such a special place in our hearts and bring us such joy that we would never be willing to give up.
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My point was that we might have these things in our lives because we can, and they enrich our lives.
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