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.

littlewhitebag, would you say that you have more love for your current dog than your children?

Your need is to keep your family complete (which includes your husband).

Serves me right for copy and pasting this early in the morning ;/

littlewhitebag - This is a serious business! Someone is going to bring zombies into the equation next.. so... there was a zombie apocalypse.. you have one awesome injection to give to someone else (human, animal, other) that would save them from certain death. Who would you give it to.. Cue the arguments of ... my husband/son/daughter/wife/pet rat is more important!! Give me the damn injection!!

It all comes down to selfishness. It's an act of self preservation - saving our self first, our family (whether you really include your pets as part of that), then saving strangers there after (probably in the order of .. the elderly/children/pets, women, men - based upon the perceived vulnerability and connection to the person/animal you are saving).

Plinky you put it much better than me!

Of course I don't love my dog more than my children. I love her completely differently. However my children are old enough to look after themselves and don't really need me the way the dog does. She relies on me to feed her and look after her.

I would always save the animal in that situation - I love animals to the point that I cry when one of my friends' animals die (even when the friend is on Facebook and I have never met them or their pet). I don't feel the same way about people - unless it is someone I know well, it doesn't affect me in the slightest.

Treacle why is a human life more important than a dog's? Not everyone believes this.

Many people have said they would understand if the dog got saved. Because the impact of losing something more immediate to you will traumatise you far more than if you are not connected to it I believe. Losing my dog would have a far more profound impact on me than saving a stranger. I am no hero!

I love MN and I really love this thread. It is great when loads of random strangers start getting all argumentative and ranty about a completely hypothetical situation.

Lol littlewhite it's interesting isn't it particularly to see the responses. Which are sometimes quite amazing. That's the beauty of it though :)

Wow. I am truly shocked by this thread.

I have absolutely zero respect for anyone who would save their dog and leave a human to die.

Absolutely astounded. And I've RTFT. Truly

I'm so depressed to see how many people are saying dogs first

What's even more depressing is that they're the ones who keep asking other people for "sensible" answers

It's all a bit warped

If you would saved your pet, could you genuinely look the mother/sister/daughter of the person you left to die in the eye, and explain yourself.

"sharplily. Are you actually suggesting it is selfish to prioritize your own children over other peoples children?"

No, I'm not - I agree with you, it's entirely normal. I, like most people, would put my family over strangers, and that includes my dog. I'm waiting for someone else to explain this point.

"Ivyfairy Sat 02-Nov-13 00:08:59

But my feelings about my cat/dog would be selfish reasons to save an animal over a human life. Choosing to help one's own children ahead of other people is not the same thing at all."

"OutragedFromLeeds Sat 02-Nov-13 00:12:04
Humour me and tell me why?

Why is prioritising your family over a stranger different? Why is that not selfish?"

It hasn't been answered yet and I'm interested.

If I were to take you word for word Mardy and say

wow I am truly shocked by this thread.

I have absolutely zero respect for anyone who would save a stranger and leave a dog to die. Absolutely astounded.

And I've RTFT. Truly. Gasp Horror etc.

I guess I would be lynched. So why is it OK for you to be so judgemental on what is an interesting hypothetical discussion?

And out of interest why is it so shocking? I have yet to read a truly convincing argument for the might of humans being more worthy than another form of life.

I would save my dog first. I don't even have a dog but seeing as it's hypothetical...
People have been shits to me. Dogs haven't.

Oh dear MardyBra people who you don't know have lost your respect because they have differing opinions than you? Oh dear!

To the person that said they were depressed.. seriously? Over answers to a hypothetical situation on an internet forum? You give people with actual depression a bad name!

Your children would need you in a fire.

It's not real folks. No one has actually come to harm in the making of this thread.

Mardy, quite easily. Because my dog is a member of the family. I don't know this other amorphous family. I have no emotional connection to them like I do the dog.

Trish. My children are in the fire now? Jeez. What are they doing there? I thought it was just my dog and a random stranger.

I would like to make a serious point. To those who perhaps think they can save their pet, and then go back for their child or a random stranger, you probably wont have time. Houses burn a lot faster than you see on the soaps and on telly.

Ah. I can see that you now understand littlewhitebag.

Understand what?

Hypothetically speaking you should never go back into a burning building so I'd save myself because my son needs me. The stranger and the dog would be left to perish i'm afraid. Or am I already in the building? This thread has me confused.
The utter disbelief of all the specieists is quite amusing though.

I think you're in the building and can save one on the way out sleepy.