Do you like dogs more than people and treat them better than people ?

[tvluv]

It seems to me there are a lot of people who value dogs higher than they do people and treat them better ?

Do you agree ? Do you do this ?

Yes.

Dogs are amazing and loving and wonderful.
People are not.

I hate the goady ‘would you save your dog or a stranger’ question. It’s designed purely to stir up upset over a hypothetical situation that nobody is likely to ever find themselves in. And even if they did, nobody knows what they would actually do any such circumstances. Stupid question.

I think unless you’ve owned a dog it’s hard to understand how they become a part of your family. I wouldn’t say I was a dog lover but I love my dogs and when we lost our last dog at 16 I was genuinely heartbroken.

They give so much love and joy to our life, definitely more than most people .My natural instinct would be to save my dog if I’m honest.

Surely you can only mean the people you know, you don't seriously think that there are any nice people in the 7 billion on the planet do you?

I find it hard to believe that everyone is real when I read things like this

Do you have children ?

I can kind of understand where people are coming from in theory with these replies about saving pets but I can’t see it as anything other than a hypothetical, it’s hard to imagine it holding true in a real (thankfully highly unlikely) situation.

What happens if you add in other factors to the imagined scenario? Like if the human is actively pleading with you to save them, do you think that you’d still save the pet?

What if a lot of other people are watching — would you save the pet and feel like you did the right thing?

What about if the stranger is a child? And if that makes a difference, where’s the cut-off point in your perception of them as “old enough” to let them die in favour of a pet?

It feels like one of those ethical problems Chidi teaches in The Good Place.

I've no idea if I would save my dog or a stranger.

I know from experience of a sudden life and death situation that instinct takes over regardless of any decision made in advance.

If your cat/dog dies the only person that is sad is you. Yes it's upsetting but honestly a pet can be replaced in time and you would love the new pet just as much. If a person dies they leave children, parents, lifelong friends etc who's lives are affected by grief that never fully goes away.

My dog is cool as are all my pets but they are animals and not on a par with humans. I would save a stranger before one of my animals.

Dogs don't put goady posts on Mumsnet which makes them much nicer than quite a few people.

I love my dog more than anyone except my DH and DC, and I'm a bit of a misanthrope.

However in the unlikely event that I had a choice of who to save, I'd save the human, albeit very very grudgingly.

If your cat/dog dies the only person that is sad is you. Yes it's upsetting but honestly a pet can be replaced in time and you would love the new pet just as much. If a person dies they leave children, parents, lifelong friends etc who's lives are affected by grief that never fully goes away.

All of this is untrue.

Does a dog of a large family then take precedent over an elderly person who has no family left?

If my dog died my whole family would be gutted.

What makes a human life more valuable than a cat's?

I want specific answers here, not just "obviously they are".

The lives that matter most to me are the ones that enrich my life. That show me affection, give me joy, provide employment, etc. The same is true of you, if you're honest with yourself.

And I have never, never, never been significantly hurt by a cat. Whereas I know an awful lot of people who have been hurt by a human. I wake up with palpitations daily because I was harrassed by a human. My mum was beaten and abused by the human she married, and that same human poured scalding water on my infant sister.

There are no cat Hitlers, or Putins.

(and that's before you get to the humans who are simply mediocre, boring, or just slightly mean)

@TimeForMeToF1y that's your way of looking at things, which is fine. My way is different.

There are no cat Hitlers

I've known a few Hitler cats in my time

I feel uncomfortable with the concept of loving dogs more than people.

It's like you all like some massive power and someone who can't answer back to you. With a dog, you're in charge. They're there, for you basically. It's weird to me if you like that more than a more complex relationship with a human. You're all a doggie really has. They rely on you completely. And that's the relationship you love the most in your life ? That's weird to me.

I have a dog by the way and adore her. But I wouldn't put it on parr with human relationships. It's different. And not above human relationships.

Me / her family are her entire world. Whereas in human relationships that's obviously not the case.

The OP wasn't about who you'd save, but how dogs are treated.
I'm pretty sickened by the whole 'treating dogs like children' think that's become pervasive. Dogs having whole wardrobes of clothes (my friends yorkshire terrier has a dozen outfits at least) etc. Shops are ridiculously expensive accessories and food, and dogs are generally being mollycoddled rather than being allowed to be dogs.
I have one acquaintance who definitely treated her dogs better than her children.

I love my dog more than anyone else.

So if you had the choice to save the life of a stranger or your dog, which would you save ?

I would save my dog over a stranger every single time. I adore my dogs and they are important family members. I feel completely the opposite about cats though. I detest them.

It's weird to me if you like that more than a more complex relationship with a human. You're all a doggie really has. They rely on you completely. And that's the relationship you love the most in your life ? That's weird to me.

That's the same as your relationship with a baby and I'd save my baby before my best friend.

I'm sorry that you have experienced some terrible human beings but my experience is different which is probably why I value humans more over animals. An animal doesn't contribute to society in a way that humans do, by working, solving problems, sharing jokes, sharing grief etc. Pets are indeed lovely and I have cats myself and will be gutted when they die but I know I can get another cat who would be pretty similar to the current ones. If my DH or kids were gone it would ruin my life completely. I don't know any truly awful human beings, a few dickheads but nobody abhorrent but I can appreciate if somebody has had a lot of bad experiences they would see things differently.

No. I am a cat person and worship at their furry paws.

That is an absolutely ridiculous comparison to make.

I'm sorry that you had a traumatic upbringing, but really, it can't have escaped you that cats are killers? And they don't kill only to survive, they kill even if their fed to bursting by their human. They do it for fun.

I love cats, I've always had them, but seeing then add the 'do no harm' option compared to a human, is just so mistaken that it's laughable. They might not harm you, but that's a different matter.

I treat my dog well because I can't explain to him that he can't sit in his usual seat because a non family member has arrived and wants to sit there.
I can't explain his dinner is late because of roadworks.

I generally expect the most intelligent person to be adaptable to the needs of the less intelligent- adults to be considerate of toddlers and pets.

I consider people who put their preferences above the needs of the non verbal to be dicks.

Completely agree.