Animals vs humans

[fifi669]

AIBU to think if faced with choosing a pet over a human (even if a stranger), you should choose the human?

The idea was brought up in another thread and put in life or death situation. Building on fire contains your pet and a stranger. You could only save one, who would it be?

I had a dog, Ralph, I cried my heart out when he died 3 years ago. The only dog I wasn't scared of! But I can't imagine leaving a person to die instead, no matter how my heart would break.

No-one is sure how they would really react in an emergency situation, but sitting comfy in my house I would answer as follows.

I have no living human family my 2 cats are my family. As a family unit we would be together in any building anyway, so my first responsibility would always be to get my own family unit out first. I would not leave the building myself without the cats.

If then faced with strange animal or strange humans, humans would get priority. I have leg and back problems so I could carry a child but would struggle to carry or drag a large unconscious adult, so I would choose humans according to who I could reasonably save. If I am carrying a child, depending on age they can hold the lead to drag a dog behind us or hold a small pet in their arms to try and maximise as many possible lives being saved as possible.

If it was to inject a strange person v killing my cats, it would be a personal judgement of mine as to who I felt was more important. If it was a young child with their life ahead of them, I would kill the cats ONLY on the condition I could then be allowed to kill myself/someone would kill me. I would not live without the cats. If it was someone I didn't like or for whatever reason didn't feel worthy - my cats and myself would come first and I'd kill the person.

I love all the smug and sanctimonious people telling off the hypothetical animal rescuers given that no one even knows how they would react in that situation. MN at its fucking best!

'Dear god listen to yourselves'

That's quite smug and sanctimonious.

I wouldn't leave my partners dog to die.

He needs him in his life and they have such a bond.

Honestly a random stranger is not my problem. I would sympathise to theend of the earth for them, but I just couldn't let my partners pet die.

However, if there was a stranger and no pet in the building, I'd go in and rescue them.

Reminds me of the scenario:

You have a car accident that takes place.
There is a small child/baby who has a cut and is screaming, but doesn't look otherwise harmed.
You have a man or woman in their late 20s/early 30s who is bleeding quite a lot but who is conscious.
Then there is an elderly man or woman who is unconscious and bleeding heavily. They are around 75/80 years old.

Which one would you attend first?
I remember reading about it in a triage thing once.

I'm sat here with my dog squishing and farting lied peacefully on my knee, quite smug with the fact I posted the right answer

Really..are people seriously choosing a dog over a person??? ..a person with possibly a partner/kids/other family??
God this is very worrying.
Imagine knowing you will die if this person doesn't rescue you and they jump in and take a fucking dog

'Worth more to the person whose life you should be saving'

That's interesting and almost certainly true. A dog probably doesn't care if it dies, but then neither does a baby. So should we save those able to understand enough to want to live over those who can't (pets, babies and young children, anyone with SN that means they don't understand etc.)?

It is smug and sanctimonious, everlong!

It's a smug and sanctimonious statement.

x-post

I also think it's valid a lot of us wouldn't be able to drag an unconscious adult out of a building.

I doubt I could and I'm a fairly strong female, albeit quite short.

I could carry a small child or drag an older one, I imagine.

I couldn't imagine being able to carry someone's overweight pitbull either, so that would be out the window.

What would be interesting is if you were in a burning building and there was the human who was conscious but injured and they begged you to save their animal, would you save them or would you accept their request and save the animal?

I honestly don't know what I would do, if I'm honest.

A baby would grow up to care....unless someone saved their dog obvs!

Humans are animals.

If you were to chose between a friend and a stranger, you'd chose your friend.

My dog is my friend, he's my family member. So I'd chose him over a stranger.

Oh I was using that as another example of a similar situation I had heard of. Sorry, I went onto a bit of a tangent there.

I read it about triage a few years back and it does make you think.

I'd probably go to the middle aged person first as they could be very badly injured. Then when that person was stable get the child to stay with them and deal with the ill elderly person. But I honestly don't know what I'd do in that situation if I was there. Emotive values can be very hard to fight. You can think you'd act rationally, but alas that may not be the case.

...but they don't care at the time and if they died would never know any different.

Terror the three people example is different because it's about making the best choice, medically, in that situation. There is a right answer. It's not an ethical or moral choice like the pet v stranger one.

'The reason we still have wars is because of ignorant humans refusing to empathise with or understand the views of others, not because of dog lovers.'

This is the reason the people that would save the stranger do save them, because they can empathise with others.

^All those saying you'd save your dog over perhaps a child how would you feel if someone saved their dog over your child?

You'd give them your blessing after the event?^

Im not a hypocrite, but nor am I deluded. I'd be very fucking upset but I know i'd have made the decision myself so no I wouldn't give them my blessing, but I wouldn't want to kill them either.