Yes, we observe it every day. We also become more aware that we are not the only ones who think our pets are our babies. And we aren’t crazy treating them like humans and well, sometimes even better than humans.
Pet sitters have a rare privilege to look inside the relationships between pet owners and their pets.
Being a pet sitter has only reinforced my beliefs about my own pets, and gave me also an opportunity to see other pet owners engaging in behaviors that some of my Russian relatives would just shake their heads at…
If my pet sitting client would ask me to hand-feed their pet, I won’t be surprised. In fact, I will also advise that leaving the TV on with preferably Animal Planet channel playing would be soothing and entertaining for their pet.
I never really thought deeply why do humans do that. We are convinced our pets are human, they just don’t have that opposable thumb that made a huge difference somewhere in the process many years ago….
The Animal Mind
Time magazine published an incredible book called “The Animal Mind” where scientists dig deep into whether animals have minds or just brains… I think every pet owner can answer this question. But it was rather entertaining to read all the research that stands behind brain design, examples of intelligence and empathy, and cold laboratory-like explanations on what happens when an elephant is grieving a relative or when a dog understands pointing…
We have all heard about hero cats that saved their human families from fires or wild bears. We read about hero dogs that fight on the front lines with their owners. And we know that ants’ society is far more complex than what it looks on the surface. As a pet owner and a pet sitter I am choosing to leave these interesting facts for you to Google on your own. The fact is: if you are reading this article, you are probably a pet owner and are curious if there are more facts to support a very strong belief you have about your pets: “They are our four-legged children”…
Four-legged Children
The thing is: we can’t treat them differently. We just can’t. These pets accept us, love us unconditionally, and sometimes they risk their lives for us. Yes, we do indeed consider them equal or sometimes superior than even some humans we know… They help us find this true pure love in our hearts. So we love them wholeheartedly. We ask our pet sitters to send us pictures of our babies while we are away. And we always include our pets in holiday cards. They are our family. We know that in our hearts and we want others to see that. We want the whole world to know how cute or smart or funny our pets are. And we also even stage our pets to look more human and share these pictures with our friends and giggle uncontrollably…
I honestly love those pet owners. Heck, I am one of them!! I’ll be the one screaming from the highest podium how smart my dog is, and yes, I do own a picture of her dressed in a skirt and wearing a hat… She’s cute!! She looks so human!! I love her dearly. And I will be asking my pet sitter to turn Animal Planet on if I were to go out of town. 🙂
Photo credit: Pets Adviser, CC BY 2.0
Cover photo credit: Martin Cooper, CC BY 2.0