Meet Killi. She's a German Shorthaired Pointer who is gracing our lives while her human family takes a holiday. Her owner brought her by this weekend for a meet and greet. It was love at first sight.
Sadly, my own dog passed away last year. We miss her terribly. A brutal travel schedule and indifferent teenaged kids make my home inhospitable for pets, so I've been dogless ever since. But for the sake of my research for the pet supply category, I'm playing host to Killi for two weeks to reacquaint myself with the rituals and purchase decisions of life with a dog.
Killi is re-teaching me why people love pets. They are vessels for love. They can be frustrating, difficult, and in some cases, destructive. But the well-loved pet is a compassionate creature. They come to our aid, lick our boo-boos and protect us from danger.
I feel like I live in an emotionally casual world. In the digital culture, people court and break up using text messages. Online dating is a digital hit and run affair. As I gaze into Killi's eyes, her brow is cocked up as if she's trying to read my emotions. I think to myself, "She may be more socially civilized than some humans." I chase that thought away. So cynical. But I may not be off base.
Recently, I had dinner with my friend Frannie who showed me photos of her new puppy. When her dog died, she rescued a dog from the pound within a month. "I'm divorced and have no children," she explained. The simple truth is that many of us are lonely. Animals are helping us fill the need for love and comfort in a world where human contact is scarce and relationships are virtually played out.
The pet supply industry reflects this trend. Doggy boutiques and bakeries, upscale grooming salons and pet attire are all part of a booming industry. According to American Pet Products Association (APPA), $3.2 billion dollars was spent on pet services such as grooming and doggy day care in 2008. This number was said to grow more than 6% in 2009. And APPA projects a continued growth of 2% for spending on pet supplies in 2010.
Our pets, of course, are completely unaware of their significance. Yes, Killi is an upbeat gal -- prancing and pointing the way to the squirrel hunkered down in the bushes. But she is also an example of the connection so many of us are lacking -- one that stays and lasts, and demands nothing but face to face love in return. She's a reminder that love can be simple without being casual. And she doesn't even know it.
Now I just have to figure out how to let go of Killi when my experiment is complete. Or rather, her family returns and she wags her tail out of our lives.
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I volunteer for rescued farmed animals...not out of lonliness but because they need someone and it fullfills something for me as well.
We can all be selfish in our love together.
I love humans for all their faults as well....and need them in my life also to feel complete.
However when we look at who we are as animals we realize that what makes us truly happy creatures is filling in that connection to the link of ethics, compassion and our own happiness. It feels good to give love and to be loved back...it is healthy and it has been proven actually scientifically.
Love (no matter who for or who from) is more conducive to our own well being and obviously to others than having the lack of it and much more positive than indifference.
The love that a human has for another human is not superior to caring and loving a non human. To believe this...would be to also believe that love for your own child is superior to the love you may have for any other person. Love is love...and it goes in all directions and none is better or more important than the other.
And it's not as simple as simply being lonely. Although if that is the excuse for having a fuller life....than we can all benefit from each others loneliness.
Veganly yours...
I never intended to have the dog I have now. I'm a cat guy...however I also never intended to have the cats I have now either. I have all the animals now not because I was lonely but because they were all homeless and because I had a home I could share. In the case of my dog I just could not leave her at the kill shelter as I knew she only had days left. After I prepared her with training, socializing her and getting her ready for adoption...we were both attached. I have the animals in my life not out of loneliness but because there is something to be said of sharing your life and having compassion with others. I'm drawn to non humans and their plight in this world. The social feeling of love is no doubt an essential need for human beings and we can achieve this through many relationships.
I love non human animals...I no longer eat animals....not because I'm lonely but because it is unnecessary... and because love entails that we be concerned about the well being of others.
No matter who...
"Dear Lord, please help me become the kind of person my dog thinks I am."
of the best things I've ever done for myself!
When you're not travelling, please consider 'fostering' pups from a local
rescue group or shelter. this way you can enjoy and help socialize a 'loaner' pup and the pup will appreciate your company, too.
Volunteer at a dog shelter. Shelter dogs desperately want someone to pay attention to them while they wait to be adopted and they dole out the love as readily as Killi.