The Pet Epidemic

Originally I had "pets" as a form of entertainment. Yesterday's encounter with yet another bad dog owner made me re-think my position. Some people spend their recreation time training, showing and caring for a specific type of animal. For others, pets are a source of comfort and therapy. For most, however, pets are an expression of mental illness and a sick need to dominate another species.

Carnivore ownership falls into this latter category. Dogs in particular are subjected to all kinds of mistreatment due to their pack-like mentality that makes them easy to control. This also makes dogs highly trainable, unlike cats which tend to be more independent, but rarely do dog owners train or care for their animals properly.

 

They allow their dogs to bark uncontrollably, roam neighborhoods freely, crap on public parks and beaches contaminating water and land with bacteria and parasites, and breed out of control. Rarely do these dog owners have any control over their animals and seem to take great pride in the fact they are not smart enough to train their dogs. They brag about their dogs' barking addiction ignoring the fact that most dogs bark because they are insecure and afraid. Research shows barking dogs suffer from heart disease and this isn't because they enjoy barking.

 

Dog aggression is highly valued by the stupid dog owner as some form of misguided security system and dog attacks resulting in human deaths are on the rise. And then there are the dog owners who train their dogs to attack and to fight other dogs. Dog owners are sociopaths. They have no concept of consideration for others nor coexisting within a community.

Although cats aren't as noisy as dogs other than the midnight howling, most cat owners do not properly care for them and they are equally as dangerous. Cats, like roaming dogs, never defecate in their own yards. They are often allowed to roam neighborhoods unsupervised defecating their worm-infested feces in gardens and playground sand. Pregnant  women are advised not to garden unless they want to give birth to brain dead babies because of the dangers of this parasite. Cats also spread diseases to wildlife.

Exotic animal owners are in a category all by themselves. What is the attraction of caging and controlling wildlife? It defies common sense and it's animal cruelty. Again, one needs to question the mental stability of a person's need to dominant another species.

Rarely are people able to care for one or two animals properly, but in most areas multiple animal ownership goes unchecked. The justification is right of ownership or stupid people claiming their right to do whatever they want regardless of anyone else. Animals are legally considered property, not living creatures, and this originated when animals were property used on farms and served a purpose. Today most animals are treated as lawn ornaments or exhibitions serving to make their owners feel better about themselves.  I don't know how many people have told me they prefer the company of their animals over people. I understand how annoying people can be, but it makes one question the mental stability of people who kiss animals on the lips and sleep in the same bed with them. Eewww. They profess their pets are like family members but how many people throw their babies outside to cry all day? Still, when times get tough, they'll take their animal relatives to the local shelter. Millions of dollars are spent every year euthanizing unwanted pets. There really needs to be better pet ownership laws protecting animals from the mentally ill.

 

A minority among the millions of crazy are animal owners who spend the time needed to train and care for their animals properly. Their dogs come when called and don't bark uncontrollably. Their cats are kept inside assuring their pet's safety. Understanding the needs of their carnivores they feed them the BARF (bones-and-raw-food) diet instead of Chinese produced toxic pet food and find natural alternatives to chemical pesticides and worm treatments such as brewer's yeast, garlic and pumpkin seeds. They also understand their responsibility as an animal owner within society and the need to coexist with others in the community.

Most chemically sensitive people I know are allergic to carnivores. With all the pesticides, flea dips, toxic deworming treatments and smelly shampoos used on animals these days, is it any wonder? On occasion I read about a chemically sensitive person who has a houseful of cats. Really? How does that make sense? The dirt and dander they contribute to an airspace is enough to suffocate anyone, not just the chemically sensitive.

Personally, I don't feel the need to dominate another species and I find keeping an animal in a cage is cruel and inhumane. Right now you are all wondering, Well, what about Peter?

Peter's Story

I am a boy. I am livestock.

Peter is a product of my crazy-ass brother's fetish for baby rabbits. He also owns a dog he encourages to attack cyclists and has been known to pack kittens in a duct tape-sealed box and dumped them on a neighbor's porch. The guy's an idiot in every sense of animal ownership. Every few months he goes to the auction and buys a box of baby bunnies. This fetish doesn't come out of the blue - we were raised with 900 rabbits. We lived with rabbits, we ate rabbits, and we displayed their trophies all over the house. My brother is tapping into his childhood. Just because we know why he's crazy, doesn't make him any less crazy.

Shortly after I moved to this house my brother called me and asked if I wanted a rabbit. NO. Now that I have a house how wonderful it would be to have a pet to keep me company. NO. (I'm not mentally ill nor companionship needy.) He went on to say this little girl bunny had four siblings. NO. He gave three to the neighbor girl who starved them to death and the fourth disappeared, probably ran over by a car or eaten by a dog. This was the last baby bunny, sure to die a horrible death. Damn. I can't stand animal abuse. OK, he knows how to manipulate me. I had just read about how rabbit manure was excellent for an organic garden so I caved. I can do one rabbit. I was interested in having a rescue farm someday so this would be my first animal orphan rejected by a stupid human who irresponsibly decided animal ownership was too much trouble.

I named her Bella. Like belladonna the herb, a plant I was growing in my garden, only she would be bella bunny, the beautiful bunny. Right away, she didn't act like a girl. Girl bunnies are usually preferred as pets because they are even-tempered and sweet. Boy bunnies are temperamental, moody and can be downright mean. Girl bunnies get along with other bunnies. Boy bunnies will kill other boy bunnies. Girls can be bred for more bunnies. Boys are solitary. Girls are preferred. This rabbit was temperamental, moody and downright mean. My brother would make a really great sleazy salesperson.

I never thought to check her gender until I went to the local auction in search of a companion for her.  As I was looking at all the bunnies, a man with obvious auction experience started chatting so I asked his advice. He said the number one warning is to check the sex. Everyone always labels their rabbits as girls in order to sell them. They lie. I didn't buy Bella a companion that day, thankfully. As the auction approached the stink of perfume and the smell of smoke made me leave, but on the way home it got me thinking. Did my brother lie to me? Wouldn't be the first time. As soon as I got home I flipped her over...MY LITTLE GIRL BUNNY HAS A PENIS! It all makes sense. I promptly renamed him Peter. Like portabella the mushroom, he was brown and he became Peterbella. Peter, the Fierce, Bad Rabbit, from Beatrix Potter's stories. I have poster of a Peter Rabbit illustration and Bella, I mean, Peter, looks just like it.

His formal name has since changed. One day I fed him some fresh beets from the garden. About an hour later I was walking by his hutch and I heard...someone farting. Not sweet bunny farts but big man farts. Loud and long. I look around thinking maybe my neighbor was out in his yard. At first I was scared, even when I realized the noise was coming from my rabbit.  Nothing can kill a rabbit faster than diarrhea. He was fine. He was just laying around his cage free farting for fun. I renamed him Peter, the Fierce, Bad, Farting Rabbit. When I realized there was nothing wrong with him I laughed so hard tears rolled down my cheeks and I had to sit on the gravel to keep from collapsing. I laughed the rest of the day every time I passed his hutch.

So Peter is livestock. He is my rescue farm. I did keep him in a hutch for a while until he got used to me. I wanted to make sure I could catch him if need be. He doesn't eat other animals and he doesn't go to the neighbor's yard and crap. He lives in my yard keeping the walkways trimmed, weeding out clover from the lawn and providing manure fertilizer. He is my personal gardener. He isn't a pet. I can't count how many people come into my yard and start tapping their leg calling, "Here Peter! Come here Peter." HE'S NOT A DOG!  He doesn't cuddle, won't allow anyone to pick him up nor does he provide me any therapy. We have a mutual understand and shared respect. At times, however, he does act like a lawn ornament and he can be entertaining.

Six months later, my brother called and asked me if I wanted two more baby bunnies he just bought at the auction.

NO!