Would you save your pet or a stranger's child?

[NotADailyMailJournalist]

Hello all

Slightly inspired by another thread where posters were surprised that people were more interested in someone's dog than their baby...

If you have a cat/dog and you could only save it or a stranger's child/baby, what would you choose?

For the purposes of this thread, no-one would ever find out you'd been given the choice, so you wouldn't face any consequences.

Thanks

Not quite the same thing is it- you’ve stretched the argument to ridiculous levels.

Also I want a nice house and food for my children. I wouldn’t send money to an animal charity and let my own child starve at home- not sure others of here feel the same though.

I do know people who seem to love their pet as much as others love children. My father was more devastated about the death of his pet than the death of his son. He was not destroyed by the death of his son, merely sad. He was devastated when his cat died and never had another one as he said he could not cope with another cat dying.

I'm besotted with my dog
I like him better than most humans (probably because I'm on the spectrum)

However I would not choose his life over a random child's

Surely the point is you will grieve the loss of your pet more than you will grieve the loss of a stranger. I'm sure anyone who has lost a child and a pet will feel the loss of the child more, but that is not the situation here. One person's loss should not be compared to another person's loss because loss is a completely personal and individual thing.

@Comedycook Something dying isn't the same as it dying because you've killed it, though.

If you were the cause of your DC's death, I am sure that would be more traumatic than if they died by other means.

YOUR pet dying may not be like YOUR child dying, sure. But I would save my pet over a random child.

My friend's (18 year old) daughter died, while pregnant, during covid. I do not think his life was destroyed by it and I don't think he'd like it if anyone told him it was, either.

I am sorry for people (I have heard many accounts) whose children have died who then find themselves isolated because nobody knows how to approach them or their situation
I hazard a guess that someone saying that they're sorry, but they really don't know what to say, or asking how they can help, would be received and welcomed much better than that, as with any devastating situation.

I would not be as devastated over a random child's death than I would over me killing my dog (or not saving her if I had a choice to).

I think the Uk's 'weird obsession' with pets is outweighed by the fact that so many healthy pets are euthanised every week because they're unwanted. Or how many are neglected. I was woken up by a border collie my neighbour has howling all night the other night-it is only about a year old. I've never seen them even walk the poor thing, it sounded so scared and confused.

My friend's (18 year old) daughter died, while pregnant, during covid. I do not think his life was destroyed by it and I don't think he'd like it if anyone told him it was, either some delightful people on this thread, honestly some people don’t deserve to be parents.

Another one here who adores her dogs. I spend almost all day every with them. They are my constant companions and best friends.

Still would save the child though. Couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t.

My dog, without hesitation. I don't have any fancy justifications and I'm not really interested in scrabbling around looking for them. I would likely feel awful afterwards. - even the hypothetical thought is upsetting, which I think probably disproves glib accusations of sociopathy. But, regardless, still the dog.

The question is not about your child. It is about your pet vs an unknown child.

Did the cat die after the son? I find a react more strongly to pet or other deaths since the death of my child. It doesn't mean that I love the thing I'm reacting more strongly too more. When my child died I actually showed very little emotion. I phoned extended family to let them know like it was an every day conversation. They were smart enough to know I was actually in shock, not uncaring. It wouldn't surprise me at all if your father reacted more strongly to his cat's death assuming it was subsequent to the death of his son. Somehow, death trauma seems to be cumulative.

She's right though. Don't tell me my life is destroyed because I lost a child. It might feel like it is for quite a while, but I don't want to have the rest of my life written off by someone else because something bad happened. My life is different and more difficult, not over.

As someone who has been in that situation and has lost a child I find the arguing on this thread that my child’s life was - at best - in some way equal, or perhaps even less worthy of saving than that of a fucking cat pretty abhorrent.

My own pet. Child has parents that are responsible for them and should be saving them. I feel its natural to rescue the one you love over the one you don't even know.

Am I a sociopath? Possibly. Outside of my own family and close friends, I don't really like or care about other people. I would care about and defend most animals though. Does that make sociopathy more likely or less? The childhood trauma is there, doesn't that often trigger personality disorders?

It raises an interesting train of thought. But would a sociopath wonder or care if they were a sociopath? Kind of wish I'd taken psychology in college, it's such a thought provoking topic.

@Balloonhearts I took it, and I have an M.A in sociology, and work as a tutor teaching qualifying level counselling students.. not a psychologist but not inexperienced at the human condition.

I don't think I'm a psychopath/sociopath. I don't think you are either.

For all those who say they’d save their pets over a stranger’s child - I take it you’re either vegans or cannibals if animal and human lives are equal?

Once again, it's not comparing all lives across species. It's a very particular scenario - your own pet vs an unknown human child. Why can't people understand this simple question? It's not about diet or charities or your own child or a child you know or non-human animals you don't know.

No, just a person who has a strong bond with their pet and knows their instinct would be to save them over an unknown child that probably wouldn't even be on my radar to start with.

No it goes deeper than that @Catsmere and @fieldsofbutterflies . If you think it’s a simple question does that mean you don’t understand ethics or that you’re simply unwilling to examine your own too deeply? We’re all morally conflicted but to refuse to even examine your own decisions is another level.

As I said earlier in the thread I’m child free by choice and mum to 3 beloved pets and I’d save a stranger’s child over them without question because I’m not a psychopath and because I think human lives are more valuable. When this thread started I thought it was daft because surely anyone would feel the same. I’m truly astonished to see that people would defend saving their pet over a child and I do think that’s pretty awful frankly.

@Catsmere people can well understand the original question, but like all discussions and debates the conversation meanders, comments are countered, people respond, new questions are asked.

you yourself announced that you’d feel more about the death of a random cat than a random child. That absolutely is a comparison across species so it’s a bit bloody rich now complaining that people aren’t answering the question.

if you’re going to make abhorrent statements about the value of a child’s life at least own what you’re doing🤷‍♀️

@PrettySenior nobody knows how they would react in an emergency scenario. You could go into shock and save neither, you could die trying to save both.

People are going on about morals but when you're faced with losing something you love, I suspect that most of people would act on instinct and do whatever it took to save that thing - be it a dog or a cat or a person.

To me, it's nothing to do with what's more valuable and everything to do with instinctually saving the one that I have a connection with 🤷‍♀️

I would rather avoid prion disease if it’s all the same to you.

I know you’re trying to point out hypocrisy, but I’m not sure what hypocrisy would even change. As if those of us inclined to save our pets would suddenly pause with a “oh! Better not! Sorry dog, had a steak earlier!”. Yeah…no.

I value my loved ones over strangers. I would save my cat over a stranger in the same way I would save my brother, or my best friend, over a stranger.

Incidentally, a psychopath would be highly unlikely to place themselves in danger by attempting to save either.

@PegasusReturns fair enough, I did make that remark about feeling more about a cat than a child, which is still not the same question as actually saving one or the other.

Some people on this thread are very free to throw "psychopath" and "sociopath" at others who they know nothing about and to make statements about ethics and value of lives as if everyone must by default feel the same way or be Evil People by another name. They're also blithely ignoring the comments by some parents who have lost children when those parents disagree with them.

The broadening of the comments has changed the context entirely, which doesn't strike me as relevant. Nobody was being asked whether they'd choose their own child or their own pet.

@Catsmere

They're also blithely ignoring the comments by some parents who have lost children when those parents disagree with them

and you appear to be doing the same in relation to parents who have lost children and disagree with you and others 🤷‍♀️

@PrettySenior I am one of those, I'll have you guess which however being close to one particular animal isn't something you'd need to be cannabilistic to practice.

I am closer to my Mum than I am to the woman next door. In an emergency I'd save my Mum first, despite her being 40 years older.