How you value your life.....a discussion

[RICHARD]

Originally posted by gini


Richard, I don't think it has anything to do with age, but experience............let's get together and get that girl a pet

And being 28 makes you an expert???

[slick]

Don't feel bad.. if you had to break your leg to save your cat, you know I would be there in a heartbeat to take care of YOU both!

Nomi...you just know that I would do the same for you. {{{HUGS}}}

Maybe I am just not that good of a person.

Jen, you just have to know that this is totally untrue. I, for one, know that if your place caught on fire, you'd be the first to run into the burning building to try to save the lives of your precious furbabies.....that is if you didn't get them all out first. I hate pain too, but wouldn't a Mother take a risk to save her child?

Your niece obviously doesn't know animal love. I would risk my life also. They are worth that and so much more. I feel bad for your niece because she is really missing out on something special.

Val, honestly, she really does know animal love. My two nieces grew up with dogs and cats and all furbabies were very spoiled. When she was younger she was different. It's just now she's in her twenties, somehow her outlook on life has changed, as it should be. However, she's becoming more opinionated and confrontational.

But would I die for them? No, I would not. I would not leave my child an orphan and my family distraught to save the life of one of my pets.

You see, that's where the controversy lies. I totally understand that logic TD and that's why I put this in the Dog House. So what does that make me?

Gini, they currently have two very, very spoiled kitties...brothers, Martini and Maverick. There is nothing that family wouldn't do for them. What really bothered me was my niece was actually getting angry over my statement that Max and Speckles were my children and I would do anything for them. She just couldn't understand why I would put their lives ahead of my own. Maybe it's just youth, like Richard says, but finally I realized I was knocking my head against a stone wall so I changed the subject. At our Thanksgiving dinner in October she really spoiled it in the end by trying to give us a lecture on why "ladies only" gyms were better because in a "co-ed" gym you are constantly a victim of sexual harrassment." Oh yes, and don't even get her started on women's oppression, unfair wages, etc.

Last night I felt like telling her to smoke a reefer and chill out.....better yet "here's a stick of chewing gum..."

I'm a pet parent and proud of it.

[Miranda_Rae]

I would most DEFINATELY give my life for my dog. She is my best friend, and she makes me so happy. I don't value my life, but I value hers, so its a no brainer for me.

[Karen]

I would absolutely risk my life to save an animal, while trying to be as smart about it as possible. Not much worry there with Miss Hoppy, as she just stays in the house 98% of the time, and any outdoor excursions are carefully supervised, and she's not one to dart out into the street anyway. Instinctually, as a human being, I would try to protect a child, an unaware adult, or an animal in danger. Maybe afterwards I'd consider what "could have" happened to me, but hey, there are good "people doctors" for just about everything!

[lizbud]

Surely people don't mean to say that they don't value their
own lives. They must, for many reasons. Your pets depend on
you totally. I value my pets & would do anything humanly possible
to save them or keep them in good health.

If it came to running into a burning building to save them, I
am certain I would attempt it.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

I would most certainly risk injury to myself to save a pet or prevent injury to the pet. I think the biggest reason for this is not that I value my life less, it's because if I get injured, I can understand why and what's happening because of my actions. Animals don't understand. This is one of the reasons Terry is such a wimp about animals. He just feels so bad for them because they don't understand what is happening to them. You can't sit down and tell a cat "Ok, kitty, you've broken your leg so now you need to wear a splint for a couple of weeks and then you'll be good as new." All they know is when they walk it hurts, and when you put the splint on they can walk but they've got this goofy uncomfortable thing on their leg, which they then try to remove.

I don't know if this totally explains what I mean, or explains it well enough, but hopefully you get the idea.

[BCBlondie]

I'd have a broken leg or legs any day. I would NEVER want to watch my animals die in front of me. A broken leg can heal, but a broken heart cannot .

I agree with what everyone else has said. I would most definitely risk my life to save one (or all) of my pets.

[Kfamr]

I'm not sure if this is pertaining to the thread, but just yesterday I was discussing my trip to Utah with my aunt, who does not like dogs the way I do. She's grown attached to mine in a way, but she still doesn't *like* them and treat them as I do.

I was telling her how scared and how I cried when I had to leave Kiara at the Airport. She said that I was silly and asked why I would cry over such a thing?

I replied by asking her if she'd like to lock her child up in a cage, and stick them in a plane for 4 hours or so. She didn't answer my question but replied by saying that i've got to understand the value of a human compared to an animal. That totally pissed me off but I had to hold myself back in respect to my mother, as it's her sister. I told her that my dogs are like children to me, and I value them as I would value a human life, and as I would my human children *when/if I have them* and that I see them as a part of my family.

She said she understood but I really don't think she does.

My dogs mean the world to me.



Now, to the original subject of saving my dog's lives over mine.
I'm kind of in the middle here.
I'd never, ever, want my dogs or I to die or be injured.

But, I think either way, whichever one of us died, the other would suffer.

If my dogs died, I would never know what to do with myself.
If I died, my dogs would be so confused and lost, especially Kiara.
So, I really don't know, but I do know I probably wouldn't even think about dying if it came to rescueing my dogs, or someone elses. I'd just think of saving them, and hopefully coming out alive as well.

[snappy]

This discussion is a "no-brainer" for me. I have always said that I would sell my house/car/etc. to help my boys. It is almost a running joke with the Vet hospital. Andy is on some major meds that are very $$$$$. So when the Dr. said something about them and wanted to know if I wanted to continue the treatment (it has helped his allergies greatly) I of course looked at Andy and told him that he would have to pay for his own college because I was paying for his meds!

I had a room mate once who did not like pets/children etc. (she had a rough upbringing and this was her way of dealing) So when I came home from the Dayton area with this little puff ball of fur that grew into Andy, her first words were, "I'm telling you right now, I don't do Dog #$%#" Well I informed her that it was MY house she was living in and this was MY dog I was bringing into MY house and I didn't expect her to do a thing with him. Since then (about 7 years ago now) she has her own house and has 10 cats - most rescued btw. And she wouldn't give any of them up! It is amazing how we can all change our minds with just a bit if intervention.

The niece - she is young and stretching her legs....I was there at one time myself, and would just say things to get argumentitve so that I knew my opinion counted for something. She may never understand the ways of us here on PetTalk (I think we are all very much of one mind whether we all know it or not!) but she will grow up.

JMHO!

[aly]

I would most likely run in front of the car without even thinking of the danger to me if one of my babies was in front of the car. And the broken leg question is an aboslute 100% yes as well. No matter how much I am a wimp about pain, I would MUCH MUCH rather have all my bones in my body broken at once than have to see one of my babies die

[anna_66]

Originally posted by slick
"Would you risk your life and run across the path of an oncoming car to save your cat's life?" Without hesitation I said "Absolutely!"

She then said "So your pet's life is worth more than yours?"

The answer to the first question like you and many others slick is "ABSOLUTELY!"

But the second question....I don't think that because I would run across the path of an oncoming car to save my pets life means it's life is worth more than mine.
I would just do anything possible to save them, as would most of us here.

[catcrazylady]

"Would you risk your life and run across the path of an oncoming car to save your cat's life?"

I did last year. It was cold outside and it was late in the evening. The sun was almost gone and for some reason I went and looked out the front door. I saw this kitty laying in the rode soaking up heat from the pavement left by the afternoon sun. I was standing there thinking that this cat is going to get hit if it doesn't move. Out of the corner of my eye I see a car backing out of the driveway three houses down. This lady flies down our road. We live on a deadend and like I said she is only three houses away but hubby and I are always talking about how she seems to get from 0 to 50 before she even reaches our house. I knew she would not stop for the cat. I didn't stop and think but flew out the door barefoot in the freezing cold. I could hear her car gearing up as I was running down the sidewalk. I jumped right into the middle of the street and put my hand straight out like I was some kind of traffic cop. She slammed on the brakes (finally!) and I got the cat to move. She rolled her window down and was fanning herself saying "Oh my God I almost didn't see you!" If she didn't see a crazy woman running down the sidwalk and jumping barefoot into the middle of the street then she darn sure wouldn't have seen the poor cat! I don't even remember who the cat was and it wasn't mine!
I thought about it later and wondered if I had been stupid. I did feel rather proud of myself but wondered at the time if that was because I didn't get splattered all over the road.
Would I do it a again? YES! I guess I will keep on doing it until the outcome is different and then I won't be able to anymore. I'm sure my tombstone would read something like "We knew her death would have something to do with a cat!"

[NoahsMommy]

I think there is a difference between people who think of and live with thier furkids as though they ARE kids and people who have children and animals.

In the situation you are in Slick (same as mine), of course you love your kitties like you would children, they ARE your children. People that have children may not be able to fully grasp that we see them the same as we would human children.

My fuzzies would have me in front of that car....not that mine are ever allowed anywhere near a situation like that. But still, if I saw my cat in the road with a car coming towards it, you better believe I'd run out there to save him/her. They are my version of my children.

I value my life greatly. But they are also a HUGE part of my life, just as human children are a HUGE part of those who have them. I'm sure anyone with human children would run out to save them from an oncoming car too.

[Cincy'sMom]

I think for most of us here, the thought process isn't really there. If those who think they wouldn't run into the road to save animal, in the situation, might. I don't think the brain has time to process all the consequences...we see a life in danger, be it human, or animal, we are going to try to protect it. I don't know if I would same the same thing for humans in general, but knowing the value of lives to people here, I think it is the gut reaction.

And I guess I'm talking about cases where the driver of the car has time to see you and stop. I don't know if I would dive in at the last second, knowing I would be hit...but in the instant it happened, I might.

[slick]

Forgive me, I didn't mean to abandon this thread. I have not been feeling well for the past two days and I'm in a really crappy mood. I'm just so saddened by what's taken place in Asia and there are other PT'ers I'm worried about as well....but life goes on, right?

I've been trying to rationalize my niece's behaviour but having a hard time doing it. She IS a very compassionate young lady and I just don't understand why this last year she's become so argumentative.

she is young and stretching her legs....I was there at one time myself, and would just say things to get argumentative so that I knew my opinion counted for something.

Snappy, you might have hit the nail on the head with this one. I really didn't think about that.

This thread is taking a different turn now. Steph and I used to be sooo close and shared EVERYTHING and now it's like she's a different person. She knows my love of animals. Am I upset because we are growing apart or am I upset because she questions my love for my animals?

I do believe that all Pet Talkers would do anything for our babies, skin and otherwise; that's why I feel comfortable talking about it here. At least you guys understand and big {{{HUGS}}} to all who've replied. I take your words to heart.