dogs
“Over the past 15,000 years, we have succeeded in domesticating and thoroughly dominating a species that now is completely dependent upon us to survive. The gray wolf, which the dog was once domesticated from, hunts for it’s food, breeds autonomously, possesses natural immunities to disease and lives a life completely free of and in fact, antithetical to, human existence. Dogs on the other hand, have been bred for millenia to serve humans: as companions, workers and protectors. They are utterly subservient to our treatment and rely entirely on us for food, shelter, affection, amusement and good health.
“All they really require is the most minimal of care and compassion and we continue to fail them.
“We allow them to breed rampantly and then kill 4 million every year in shelters because there isn’t enough space; we make them into designer breeds like Labradoodles and Cockapoos because it’s a charming mix while 30% of the homeless dogs in shelters are pure breds; we abuse them, neglect them and even fight them until the death.
“Don’t we owe these ancient companions more respect? We show more reverence and good will to the very least and most despicable of our own species while constantly using and abusing the faithful creatures that have been at our side for centuries.” — Traer Scott, Photographer
Adopt from a rescue or shelter and let’s end pet homelessness.
Otherwise, here are some of the faces you will miss.
Click images to see full photo.
Many gracias, Holly
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I was quite moved after I stumbled over these photos and Traer Scott’s words. Enough that I want to share them with you. More and more people from all walks of life are coming forward to lend their time and their talents to saving our homeless pets. By bringing their faces to you, perhaps you will better realize that the millions we kill in shelters every year — that’s about one animal every 8 seconds — are living, breathing, loving animals who did nothing wrong other than having the misfortune of ending up in our shelters. It’s really time to re-evaluate our thinking. It’s time to take killing off the table.
It’s time to honor our loyal companions as they have always honored us.
You can read the full post of “Death on Our Shoes” from Traer Scott on her blog.
7 Comments to “The species we made dependent…”
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Tweets that mention The species we made dependent… « Let's Adopt! Canada | saving animals, inspiring people -- Topsy.com says:
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Being Stray, Holly Ellis. Holly Ellis said: Let's show our ancient companions more respect ~~ http://ow.ly/2grhF [...]
Viktor says:
Those dog’s misfortune was not to end up in shelters.. that is the final outcome of a series of unfortunate events that started by the decision of the breeder/petshop to give them to a particular family in the first place.
They didn’t end up in the shelter on their own… they were directly placed there by someone, someone that at some stage called himself “animal lover”.
I really fret whenever someone writes to me and announces: Hello Viktor… I’m an animal lover!
Most of the disasters we deal with are commited by “animal lovers”.
Food for thought.
Marietta says:
Dogs, cats and the rest of the animal kingdom are free spirits! and we totally broke their free spirit by domestication, training and by making them fit in our living rooms etc.. ; restricted their freedom for not chewing our furnitures, carpets..etc…bred them to fit our fancy and fashion whims and trained them to SERVE US~ …
With the risk of being criticized for this note, i m totally against the idea of humans “owning PETs” ..The pet industry should stop and breeding should stop along with human overpopulation! Nature should be restored to its natural state!
I never owned a pet, i always had “rescues”! I even have an issue with the term “own”! I own a chair, or a car, but never a living breathing creature!
How could we change the status quo after 1000 s of yrs of exploitation and abuse of our extended families??? our animals?
Holly says:
I agree completely with the statement that we do not own the animals we share our lives with… just as we never own the land we live on. There are forces greater than us that will prove this. I believe we are guardians of both because we possess the ability to negotiate this man made responsibility.
Many people have become desensitized to their responsibilities opening the door for the abuse both suffer. We have relegated our animals to such a subservient level that we do not even “see” them anymore. Got too many? Just kill them. Are they too much trouble? Just dump them somewhere. Isn’t that one cute? Buy yourself one… or two. How cute is she? Breed her.
I think we really hit on something a couple decades ago when “pet rocks” were introduced. That’s what a lot of people should have instead of the pets they do have. That rock will outlive you, but it requires nothing from you.
chris cella says:
I prefer to say that I live in one big dog house and if people don’t like it then don’t come over. We all share my bedroom. I say MY because they have their own but love their Mom. They have a big yard to run in but I think it should be at least 4x the size it is for them to get the exercise they need. I have 4 Irish Setters and 3 are rescues. One I got as a puppy because she was born on my birthday and I knew it wouls tick my X husband off subsequently we divorced. He told me it was him or the dog, I kept Chloe. I’ll never regret my choice. The following year she developed epilepsy and I know if she would have gone nanyplace else she would have been put down. Her seizures are under control and she is a beautiful girl. All of my house companions are fixed and none were bred. I live in St. Louis MO.USA. Missouri is the worst state in the country for puppy mills if I’m not mistaken. It makes me sick everytime I think about it and sometimes these people get the dogs back. I’m for some serious jail time, in a 4×6 cell with a wire mesh floor. Hope the toilet above them doesn’t back up!!
Jeffrey Coolwater says:
Holly, I totally agree it is us (humans) who are responsible for domestication and breeding nonhumans into this completely dependent existence.
And I totally agree all “companion” animals deserve our care and consideration.
But in caring for so many unfortunate souls constantly coming into existence, I think it is vitally important that we also focus on the cause.
Viktor, breeders and pet shops would not be “making” these animals if there was no market for them. The “series of unfortunate events” you refer to begins ultimately with the widely prevailing social mindset that allows and encourages domestication and breeding, indeed all animal enslavement, as ‘normal’. We, individuals and grassroots groups the world over, need to educate the public with a new paradigm that says *all* animals deserve respect and justice. And that means freedom from human domination and exploitation… and the one truly effective way to achieve this is to educate people to stop using animals altogether. The absolute minimum, easiest, and yet most effective way to do that is to be Vegan. Remember, to be Vegan is not just a diet. It is an all encompassing attitude of respect for the interests of all animals – human and nonhuman.
But in order to teach others of this we must first teach ourselves.
Thank you all for your consideration.
Three interesting reads: on tail-docking, domestication and ‘a typical day at the SPCA’ « PACK MENTALITY says:
[...] species we made dependent” was written by Traer Scott and posted on the Let’s Adopt Canada [...]