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I agree that for many folks the death of a dog is harder than the death of a human being — but I don't agree that this is a good thing. I love my dog, who is w

by zeveb 10y ago

I agree that for many folks the death of a dog is harder than the death of a human being — but I don't agree that this is a good thing. I love my dog, who is wonderful, fun and always eager to please, but at the end of the day she's an animal and I'm her owner: a dog's not a human being. When my dog dies, if I feel that loss more keenly than I do that of a family member, then I hope I'll consider that a sign of inverted priorities, an emotional problem which should be corrected, not celebrated. Granted, I may feel differently when the black day comes … I am reminded of a column I read years ago about how people don't care much if an innocent man is killed by the police, but really care if a dog is. Human life is worth more; I'd hope that is self-evident.

wmil 10y ago
This has been studied. The issue is that people view dogs as helpless and dependent. You get a similar reaction if someone with say, extreme downs syndrome is killed. Normal people have agency. Most of the "innocent man is killed by the police" stories involve some very stupid behaviour by the "innocent man" leading up to his death.
- joaomacp 10y ago
  What about killing millions of pigs because they're tasty? Do they have agency? What about stepping on an ant for the fun of it? Does it get a negative reaction equal to the killing of a dog? It's an animal's life... The only reason killing a dog would be bad is because the dog may belong to someone, so it's like burning their house: it's property vandalism. Everything beyond that is down to aesthetic: most people in your culture think dogs are cute, so they want to care for them. In some chinese places, a dog is food, so it's alright, just like it is alright killing millions of pigs in our culture.
srean 10y ago
> at the end of the day she's an animal and I'm her owner: a dog's not a human being. For some weird reason that reminded me of slave owners in US, the logic used to be quite similar.

by zeveb 10y ago

wmil 10y ago

This has been studied. The issue is that people view dogs as helpless and dependent. You get a similar reaction if someone with say, extreme downs syndrome is killed. Normal people have agency. Most of the "innocent man is killed by the police" stories involve some very stupid behaviour by the "innocent man" leading up to his death.

joaomacp 10y ago
What about killing millions of pigs because they're tasty? Do they have agency? What about stepping on an ant for the fun of it? Does it get a negative reaction equal to the killing of a dog? It's an animal's life... The only reason killing a dog would be bad is because the dog may belong to someone, so it's like burning their house: it's property vandalism. Everything beyond that is down to aesthetic: most people in your culture think dogs are cute, so they want to care for them. In some chinese places, a dog is food, so it's alright, just like it is alright killing millions of pigs in our culture.

srean 10y ago

> at the end of the day she's an animal and I'm her owner: a dog's not a human being. For some weird reason that reminded me of slave owners in US, the logic used to be quite similar.