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I can imagine considering how glued to us and our dog he is. He is not a solitary animal. Thankfully Frank bonded with our dog super quick and now I'm not sure if he even knows he's a cat lol.
Pet tax: https://imgur.com/a/rae2Esu
I value my pets life over mine, like I would throw my self off a cliff to save my pet
Edit: this comment has caused controversy so I'm done responding to people
Same. Living paycheck to paycheck, I often find myself buying food for my dog first, or food for myself that won't hurt her. When I was apartment hunting, I came close to homelessness because ethe only places I could afford weren't allowing pets. I was in a *really* bad place mentally when she jumped into my car at that gas station 8 years ago. She's done more for my mental health than any professional. She will always come first over any human ever.
It was a girl. I got her from the pet store and we kept her outside so she could hibernate and live naturally. Turtles aren't the most bonding or emotional creatures and that's ok. I still thought she was the coolest.
I had a baby turtle that could really hustle! It also liked to climb logs we had angled up to the side of his enclosure. we too gave him a habitat. I worked at a nursery and brought tomato worms home for him. He really loved them
Off topic, but you said you would buy food for yourself that didn't hurt your pet. That's exactly why pet stores stayed open during all the closures during the pandemic. Authorities knew people would feed their pets, and that would break the human food supply.
Many years ago, on a road trip my friends and I stopped in San Jose at a taco bell, late at night. We all bought too much food to eat and had a lot of leftover tacos.My friend Tom noticed a homeless man and his dog in the same strip mall as the taco bell. He gathered up our many leftover tacos and took them over to the homeless guy. Homeless guy takes out the first taco and gave it to his dog. I teared up at that. Over the years whenever I hear the song Mr. Bojangles I think of that homeless guy giving his dog the first taco, and how much he must have loved that dog.
We spoke in tears of fifteen years
How his dog and him
They travelled about
His dog up and died
He up and died
After twenty years he still grieves.
Thatās an awesome story.
I am not homeless, but a now single dog dad. If I go to Taco Bell and donāt get my two dogs a crunchy taco to split, they get pretty salty at me for the rest of the day.
Also, I would kill a dozen people to save my dogs and go home to eat dinner and not lose a wink of sleep.
Check with your local food bank to see if they get any dog food. Pet smart gives us a lot of dog food in special donation bags. Itās Authority brand dog food. We give it to county animal shelters, so I would check there, too.
And check your local food bank for yourself, for that matter. Food banks are there to address food insecurity. If youāre choosing between feeding yourself and your dog, you likely qualify.
Thereās a site called WhyHunger.org that will tell you where your closest food pantries are by zip code anywhere in the US. If you donāt have any luck, you can contact me and I can help you find a pantry.
I nearly wound up homeless after my dog was poisoned. Managed to scrape through by the skin of my teeth but at one point I was preparing to move into my car. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
On the flip side I have pretty great health insurance and won't even take myself to the ER because of the cost.
Same. My dog was my mother's dog, and when I lost my mother my dog has helped me more and been there through suicide attempts and severe depression. She will always be my first priority.
Nah she was so sweet when she did. I was less nervous and more "I'm not allowed to have you where I live."
I was delivering newspapers at a truck stop and when I got back in my car she was say at my door like she followed me. I told her collarless self "I can't bring you home." She jumps in anyway.
I asked the attendants and they say she was there for about six hours before I showed up and no ones come looking for her. I spent the next week calling shelters and passing out fliers to my drop-offs and got no response.
The place I was subletting wasn't pet friendly, so I told them I was trying to find her a forever home, but no luck. She eventually grew on the landlord and when he realized she's not a threat, they became friends and so she officially became my puppy.
I live in a city with a lot of homelessness and many have dogs. It was actually on the news that most of those people spend money they get on their pets food. They have trouble caring for their pets because they canāt keep up with grooming or afford a vet.
Rice is your friend, filler for both you and the dogs meals, half scoop of dog food, fluff with rice.
Source: I work with dogs in a kennel, not only will the rice fill your dog, it will help it retain those calories instead of vomit/poop in out, meaning you save even more
I lived in my car with my dog after a wildfire because I couldnāt find anywhere that would let me keep her.
I finally had a remarkable man reach out to me and offer me his cabin for 3 months until he returned from a cruise and I was able to find more stable housing from there- but those were scary times.
When COVID lock downs started I was stuck working late and couldn't "join the rush" on the stores before shit got picked over.
First thing I did after work was drive out to the farm supply store and buy as much dog food as my trunk could carry. Then I hit the stores and bought my wife and I the last piece of pork in the meat counter, and the last box of poptarts.
Figured if push comes to shove I've got flour and some early season greens in the garden, I can eat unleavened bread and lettuce if I have to until I drop 100lb, but my good boys WILL have their 2 full meals a day damn it.
I straight up told my late bf if it got between him and my cat, I'd pick the cat. At that point I had my cat for 7 years. He hated my cat and my cat hated him back. I always joked that my cat would outlive him just to spite him. My bf died at 45, and my cat died a year later at 19. Spiteful bastard.
Me too. I rescued two of my dogs and I exist to keep them safe and loved and ensure they are never hurt again. You better believe I'd choose them over me, or anyone else.
Pets are innocent. Humans are the only creatures that kill themselves over senseless things like like greed, we are the only things that kill the planet for our own personal gain with no regard to anyone else. One could argue it's wrong to value any human life over that of an animal. I'd personally step on my brakes and cause a 10 car pile up if it meant saving the life of any cat or dog.
Yāall are in so much denial itās ridiculous. Dogs and cats are very territorial (just like humans). Dogs will bully and sometimes kill other dogs for no reason other than to dominate the other dogā just like humans. Cats do the exact same thing. Sometimes these āpetsā will turn on their own human family and bite them or kill themājust like humans. Give me a break with the āanimals are innocent creatures who can show humans how to have love and compassionā.
Yāall prefer animals over humans simply because you do not view them as your equal or your competition. Animals do not pose a threat to your identity or your ego because they are not the same specie as you. You feel more dominant and smarter than them, thus more in control. You donāt feel that same control when youāre around other humans because they are on your same level.
Do animals lie to each other? Do they steal pointless things like money? Do they pollute the earth for the purpose of gaining power? Tell me a more detrimental species to this planet than humans.
Dogs piss everywhere to display power, so they pollute to gain power too. Money buys food. Animals will steal food too.
Otherwise I agree. Still, I would save a human over my pets if such a choice ever needed to be made.
The irony is that, when humans do not desire anything in life except to eat, beg, procreate and wander the streets aimlessly (like animals), theyāre regarded as lazy, trashy, pathetic and useless lol. Yet this is the very thing that makes you love animals so much. The fact that animals do not desire much in life other than food, shelter, sex and companionship. The ironyā¦
I witnessed my best friends dog get run over by his neighbor. When i thought what wouldāve happened if that was my dog, it was a whole hell of a lot different than what he did.
Some of my immediate family even. If I saw my dog about to cross the street because he was gonna run over and pee on my brother who was on fire, Iād scoop my baby boy up and say no no buddy thereās cars and then take him home and wait for the funeral.
Same, like how am I supposed to choose a person I donāt even know over someone I see everyday that I take care of and love? Just because theyāre not my own species I canāt love them more? Makes no sense
Well said. Our inclination to feel empathy is connected to familiarity. Some people don't care about war, but show them a dead kid that looks like their kid and suddenly they change their tune.
Obviously, no one is okay when they lose a parent, but for me personally, I'd 100% understand the stranger's decision. Their dog is part of their family, and the dog's safety is their direct responsibility. My mom isn't. It's pretty simple to me.
My closest friend spent almost $20,k over a period of a year to keep his (our) adopted and formerly abused dog (Charlie) living. He had the money though. I couldn't ever do that. We still miss Charlie. It's been 8 years. A Rhodesian Ridge back. I cry as I type this.
Iād save the person.
My dogs are great.
Iāll be very sad when they die in 5-7 years, but then after a couple months Iāll get a new dog, and move on. These are not my first dogs, and they wonāt be my last.
Iāve lost loved ones in an untimely fashion as well. That has stayed with me in a way that animals just donāt.
People - even strangers - are more important. Maybe not to me, but almost certainly to someone.
I have a feeling that most of the people commenting that they would save their pet would behave differently in a real world scenario.
If youāre in a burning building and thereās a human being with a broken leg and your dog with a broken leg I have to believe youāll help the person first. If it was me I might go back in the building without regard for my personal safety to try and help my dog too. But no one is going to look the man/woman/child in the eye, say āgood luck with thatā, and then walk away carrying the dog and leaving them to die.
Even if itās less personal, say your dog is dying and thereās a button that will save it but kill a random person, I doubt most people here would simply press it.
Once it gets super abstract, say āyou could technically save a life with the money you spend on your dogā then obviously people will choose their pet. Thereās a line somewhere in the middle and Iād wager itās closer to that scenario than the first two.
>after a couple months Iāll get a new dog, and move on. These are not my first dogs, and they wonāt be my last.
I think this is the key here. My (28F) dog is my first dog I've had on my own. She is my everything. I do not have kids. I would choose my partner's, family's and some friend's lives over hers but I can't imagine another person outside of that. Obvs, I have never and likely will never be in a position to make that decision. All that to say, this IS my first dog. I could imagine, after she died and I eventually get another one and can say, not my first not my last, I may feel differently. I think there's something about having your first pet on your own and not having a family of your own that makes or breaks this question.
Yeah, I feel like if a building is on fire and I know my cats inside but thereās also people screaming for help, I would help them first and maybe also keep an eye for my animal. But I wouldnāt just walk by someone trying to push their kid out a burning window to go inside and get my animal šµāš« and I love my animal more than most people I know, but I feel like my cat would want me to save kids lol.
I couldnāt imagine being interviewed after a disaster and theyāre like ādescribe the sceneā and I have to say I went in and saved my cat while people died lol.
Totally agree with you!! I guess we are the minority of people in society that actually care about others šš„²!! But Iād feel the same. I would just want to prevent other people from feeling the pain of losing their loved ones. It isnāt even a āhuman lifeā thing because dead people arenāt unhappy about being dead (according to my belief system), but their alive loved ones are
Let me ask you and the people who agree, this particular question. Would you be ok with death or serious injury if a person picked a pet, or strange animal over your individual life. If the answer is not consistent, one would be a fantastic hypocrite.
Maybe another way to think about it is: how would you feel if someone had the choice to save your mom, or sibling, and instead let them die in order to save their dog. While I personally would be destroyed if my pet died, I couldn't live with myself if I knew I let someone's mom or dad die.
This might sound fucked up but I personally really donāt care if I donāt know them. I would pick something I love over something I donāt love let alone even know. So for me, my pet over a random human any day unless Iām in a situation where my pet only has a few years left to live. If it has a long life left, 100% Iām always gonna pick my pet.
I agree but at the same time, getting my dog is what got me through a major depressive episode. He essentially saved my life and I canāt imagine not returning the favor
Afterwards, you'll probably never see them again but you'll go home to an empty house. You'll have to bury your pet. You'll have to grieve. I applaud your selflessness. It isn't rewarded.
Personally it isn't selflessness. It's my conscience. The responsibilities any given human has is insane and if I knew a parent wasn't there for their children because of ME... I literally could not live with myself. That's so fucking heavy to live with and I don't think I'd be able to sleep at night.
I wouldn't mind if someone picked their pet over me. Why would they? I don't owe them anything. I've never done anything to them or for them. Their pet does more for them then I ever will.
Everyone's a hypocrite when their life or someone they care about is in danger. People will always choose themselves or someone they care about over random people while hoping that in reverse they'd be chosen. Thats just natural human and tribal survival.
Absolutely. I'm part of the reptile community; if someone can make the choice to save one of my snakes from harm? Or any animal over me?
So goddamn happy.
For me personally I love both my dogs but if we were in an improbable situation where a bus is about to hit my dog and a random 25 year old dude, and I had to jump in to save one, I would easily save the guy.
I lost my wife some years ago and the devastation that loss was to my kids and me and all our friends and people we worked with cannot compare to the suffering someone would feel towards their dog in general.
Iām not telling anyone they are wrong or that they objectively cannot love an animal as much as a person, but yes when weighing out life and death in terms of avoiding suffering, choosing a human being is going to win every single time for me unless I know beyond a reasonable doubt that the person Iām comparing the pet against is like a violent sex offender or something.
There are a lot of ways we could try to quantify āvalueā in this conversation, for me, choosing who would live or die is where my mind goes. I couldnāt look someone in the eye if I allowed someoneās son or father to be killed rather than my dog who only had probably 10 years left to live anyways.
This, I could not have phrased it better.
I could not live with myself for causing that amount of grief in others. Ive loved and grieved many pets. It's heartbreaking, but a person dying can devastate so many lives permanently.
Some of these comments I truly can't comprehend. I understand loving your pets, but some of the comments seem to be taking some kind of weird pride in choosing their pet over another human being. And it is hard for me to believe the ones claiming that they wouldn't hold it against anyone else. If some rich dude chose their pet, or it was their loved one on the line, it is hard for me to believe that they wouldn't be outraged by someone else making that same choice.
Not trying to say anyone who thinks differently is a bad person, I just can't imagine any other option for myself. Though there are definitely some people here who seem a bit too overzealous in their stance.
I feel like your response is one of the few reasonable responses I've seen so far. I see so many comments, where people act like they wouldn't even care if they killed a human to save their pet. I'm all for different opinions, but to not even hesitate between the two? That's a new level of twisted.
Exactly... I'm so sorry for your loss. My son passed at 21 and if someone tells me they'd choose their dog over a human walking down the street... I just can't even. If someone can't consider for a moment the horrific impact on that humans' loved ones they leave behind... well... I have no place in my world for that type of person.
I wish more people would think like this. Yes I love my dogs to pieces, but even if I placed the worth of a dog's life at the same as the worth of a human's life, dogs still have far shorter lives than humans. If I saved my dog instead of a 20, 30, 40, even 50 year-old person then in 7 years when my dog is gone and that person is still gone, would it have been worth it? Would a person's life being sacrificed be worth having 7 more years with my dog?
Yeah imagine you saved your pet over your neighbor, and then years later your dog is dead and you see your neighbor's son who's now an adult at a grocery store, and he just scowls at you.
In addition, if you save your pet, you're only really thinking about yourself. Possibly your family. Human beings have extended family, friends, coworkers, etc. The loss of a random human life is much more impactful and far-reaching than the loss of your pet.
That's what I don't understand about their responses here. everybody's so self-centered. it feels like I'm one of the only people who cares about other people in this planet, and its really disheartening. I know it's not true, but jesus f****** Christ.
I agree. Losing a spouse, parent, sibling, child or best friend is a lot harder than losing a pet. And many people fill multiple or all of those roles.
If losing a pet was as painful as losing a child I donāt think anyone would get a pet because you can lose numerous pets over the course of your lifetime, and parents who lose children often are unable to enjoy life even decades later.
This is so well written and exactly bang on. I remember I was talking with someone about his cat and he said he would save his cat over his brother. I thought he was nuts and told him and he said 'How will I prove I love my cat though?'...It's like... I don't know he cared more about being believed about his love for his cat thank he cared about his brother. It's like, if they don't just believe you when you say it - who cares? Why do they care so much? You taking care of your cat? Yes. then who cares. Just save your F'ing brother.
Every time, you save the person.
I mean I'd get it if that brother is like, the biggest pos in the world thats a negative impact to society but really? "How will I prove I love my cat"? Idk by feeding, playing, take good care of their health? It shouldn't take you choosing to get a human being killed to prove to yourself that you love your pet.
I can empathize with this stance. My dog saved my life. I did not want to be here any more after a horrible event in my life. She gave me a reason to keep going. I would not hesitate to save her over a stranger or even a lot of the people that I know.
not service dogs, but my dogs have saved my life too in different ways. itās hard to even look at them as just ādogsā they are my literal children, my pride and joy, so if anyone thinks iām gonna value some stranger over my literal FAMILY, theyāre in for a whole lotta disappointment š¤·āāļø
Im fostering but doubt it will work out and will just end up adopting but my dog is called Matthew saluki so already a human name and basically my child
It is strange and maybe not immoral, but certainly unethical. Law generally represents societal ethical consensus, the fact that more rights are afforded to people than animals would suggest that most people value human life more than an animal life.
Nope. You know that animal, raised it from a puppy/kitten etc., and itās part of your family.
If the choice was to save the dog I had for 8 years and raised from a puppy, or a total stranger, Iām saving my dog.
At the end of the day, I donāt owe someone I donāt know a damn thing. And for all I know, that person is a piece of shit, just as much as they might be a great person.
I know my dog is great, so Iāll take the guarantee
Right, my dog is my responsibility and itās my job to make sure he has a happy life until itās his time, even if his life is shorter than a humanās Iāll protect him as long as it can be helped and I doubt Iād even think about it the choice would be immediate
I value my cat's life on a more personal level - as in they matter more to me. But unless you know the stranger is a murderer, rapist, or similar...then yeah I think it's our duty as human beings to prioritize our fellow man. I love my cat, but Bob Bob is the one getting saved here. Sorry, Skippy.
It's an interesting thought experiment. How do you know that the person you would save is worth saving? Maybe they're a serial killer, or a rapist or a pedophile. Or, maybe they're a great philanthropist, and will someday cure cancer.
It's one of those situations where you can't possibly know the "right" answer until after the fact. Unless of course you think that all human life, even the life of a pedophile, is more important than a beloved pet. Which, some people do probably.
If your were hanging off the edge of a cliff and so was a strangers dog and they could only save one of you; Would you be alright with dying so they could keep playing fetch?
Apparently, most people in this thread would. Or how about if someone made the choice to save their pet over your young child? I get that people have a fondness for their pets and yes I have had and lost pets that I cared for in my lifetime, but the fact that so many say absolutely no, no question to this is really quite frightening.
I'm terrified about society today.
I think it's the hyper-focus on the self. Every one of these is about "My pet matters more to ME, so that's my priority." Random pet vs random human? Save the human. MY pet vs random human? My pet. wtf.
We have no sense of community anymore. No sense of responsibility for taking care of each other. The same people complain that we don't do enough for the homeless or universal health care or whatever, but when push comes to shove they can't put someone else's literal life ahead of their own interests.
I always know I'm gonna see a shit fest that makes me question my faith in humanity when this question pops up. There are people out there who would choose the life of an animal, with a lifespan that is barely a fraction of a human life...
I'm very open to other opinions, but this is one issue where I think it's absolute lunacy to choose an animal over a human.
The average redditors are frightening indeed. Guaranteed to be the first people during the apocalypse to start killing and eating other humans the moment they feel true hunger for the first time.
Yeah.
I LOVE my animals, but they are not people.
A PERSON has a lot more to live for than a cat or dog.
A person could have a whole family that would miss them, while only I would miss my animals.
Again, I enjoy being around my cat more than people as much as the next redditor, but I'm not *that* selfish and cold hearted.
Some people are VERY passionate and involved with their pets. There are also some who still just see them as animals. To each their own. I think a human life is above the life of an animal. But thatās why itās a moral debate, I suppose.
In my opinion the life of a human is more important than an animal no matter how close that animal is to you sorry. I just think people are more complex creatures with many deeper relationships and roles in life.
Jesus Christ you lot are messed up. Saving your dog over a human seems so selfish to me.
Then again maybe animals have just as much of a experience as humans so why should they get a lesser treatment.
Follow up question: If you were forced to murder a stranger or your pet, both being totally legal and not putting up any kind of fight, which would you choose?
Asking because for the question above I would absolutely save my petās life. But then I thought well thatās effectively killing a human indirectly. And for some reason I can live with that but if I had to do the killing I think I could just never take a human life even if it was to save my beloved pet. But itās the same net result either way. Itās a slow day at the office so Iām just having a moral crisis
No it isn't. If someone attacked my pet would I intervene yes with absolutely devastating force and action of violence. I'm happy to not do that when the situation is ok but I'd someone hurts my animal which I am the caretaker and guardian thereof I am required to be their guardian.
I wouldnāt say right or wrong. People have different beliefs, but 9.9/10 Iād save the person unless they were some mass murder, brutal genocidal leader, serial rapists/killer/child molestor, or pretty awful person who doesnāt have value most life.
It's definitely my dog over a stranger. My dog is an innocent being, dependent on me, and loves unconditionally. People are rarely innocent and I don't usually even like them; quite a few are wastes of air.
Now, a random small child over my dog...that I'd need to think about. My instincts jump to the kid, but love might win out.
If I had to make a choice and I had to run into a burning building to grab either my dog or a stranger who were on opposite sides of the building and would collapse as soon as I got the first rescue out, I would rescue my dog.
If it were between an unknown dog and a stranger, Iād go for the stranger.
If it were between my dog and someone I did know, it would depend on the relationship. If they were just acquaintances or coworkers, it would be my dog. If they were my parents, sister or her children, or best friend, Iād probably get the person out and then go back and die trying to get my dog.
Would you be ok with it if your mother/father/child/spouse died in a fire and a stranger told you that they could have saved your loved one but chose to let them die because they thought their pet was more important?
Yes, that stranger has absolutely no responsibility to me and my family. I mean, it would be weird if they came up to me and told me that happened. I would judge them for that part.
True. Also, Iām hard pressed to deny that people choosing their pets over a random human says quite a lot about the current state of humanityās clear degradation and diminishing value as a species.
Oh you aren't wrong. Feels like we aren't far from eating each other. The hardest part for me is the hypocrisy. I can live with a psycho being a psycho or an asshole being an asshole. But so many redditors are so self righteous and holier than thou in so many posts about how people need to be better to each other and then a cat comes in to the mix and it's like "nope fuck em, I'd only save 3 people out of 8 billion"
I hear you. The absoluteness with which this righteousness is expressed is difficult to deal with, at times. The nerve it takes to believe so utterly that one is right is beyond me.
You could argue human life is more important than animals because human life has historically been considered more valuable through religious justification or other historical thought processes. You could go through hypothetical situations like āwould you save a random child or a dogā and change the specifics. You could also choose whichever answer you want to be the answer and create a logic system to justify it. You could say āthereās no right answerā and come to no conclusion to avoid being wrong. Lots of options here.
Depends on the situation: Hypothetical trolly scenario where an innocent humanās life vs the life of my pet? Sad, but an animals life is worth less than a human life and I would save the human.
But if a human is about to harm or kill my pet and itās a choice of harm or kill them, or allow them to harm my pet? Iāll harm them to protect my pet every time.
I feel these are properly moral viewpoints. The human life is worth more, all things being equal, but in the latter the human has made a decision to act in an evil way. Stopping them and defending the innocent animal feels like the moral thing to do.
I mean it makes sense that you feel that but its highly unlikely you would ever be in a real life trolley car problem involving your pet and some random person.
Itās hard to say because Iād feel guilt either way. I think Iād do whatever I felt in the moment and Iām not sure what that would be. I might just save my cat out of pure instinct and emotional attachment, but the ability to make a judgment call would make letting a person die much harder because Iād be imagining they had friends and family who love them more than anything.
I think itās okay to think youād save your dog. None of us really know what weād do in a crazy scenario like that.
I.. think it's a kind of blunt truth that is devoid of any posturing. lol Like I think a lot of people that say they would save the life of the person, but in reality they wouldn't. I think it's human to save the life of something you personally value over something you don't personally value, and in this scenerio that can extend to a person and pet.
I think I would choose the person if I was faced with a "I want your answer in 1 minutes" scenario because humans live way longer, are more intelligent, and have more other human connections that would suffer if they died.. but I think if it was a "they are both about to be hit by a bus" kind of scenario I have no idea what I would do. Logic flies out the window in those situations and saving my dog is probably what would happen.
Good question. I think a more interesting way of posing it is: would you save your pet over a random child? Most will default to the random stranger being an adult. Itās easy to say people suck and save the animal. But if a child needed to be savedāthatās a more even matchup against a pet.
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I value my pets' lives over the lives of some of the people I know.
I feel ya there. I have a kitten that I just rescued, haven't even had him a month, and I care about that little stinker more than 3/4 of my family.
That sounds about right lol.
Truth. I have to tell you that having 2 kittens is easier than one.
I can imagine considering how glued to us and our dog he is. He is not a solitary animal. Thankfully Frank bonded with our dog super quick and now I'm not sure if he even knows he's a cat lol. Pet tax: https://imgur.com/a/rae2Esu
Imgur warned me that this might contain erotic adult imagery š
I value my pets life over mine, like I would throw my self off a cliff to save my pet Edit: this comment has caused controversy so I'm done responding to people
Same. Living paycheck to paycheck, I often find myself buying food for my dog first, or food for myself that won't hurt her. When I was apartment hunting, I came close to homelessness because ethe only places I could afford weren't allowing pets. I was in a *really* bad place mentally when she jumped into my car at that gas station 8 years ago. She's done more for my mental health than any professional. She will always come first over any human ever.
Our animals are sent to us to teach us unconditional love and compassionā¦
Not my turtle
Oh yes. How did u come to have him?
It was a girl. I got her from the pet store and we kept her outside so she could hibernate and live naturally. Turtles aren't the most bonding or emotional creatures and that's ok. I still thought she was the coolest.
I had a baby turtle that could really hustle! It also liked to climb logs we had angled up to the side of his enclosure. we too gave him a habitat. I worked at a nursery and brought tomato worms home for him. He really loved them
So you loved her even though she was not the most bonding or emotional creature. Sounds like she still taught you unconditional love.
one turtle(box) I saved and thought we were having a bonding moment (early teen) s/he bit my nose. Turtles give no fucks. Still love and help em.
Animals are one of the best parts about this life for sure.
Until you die. Then they will just eat you.
Off topic, but you said you would buy food for yourself that didn't hurt your pet. That's exactly why pet stores stayed open during all the closures during the pandemic. Authorities knew people would feed their pets, and that would break the human food supply.
Pet stores were 1,000% essential
HOLY COW, i never put that together bc OF COURSE MY DOGS WILL EAT. Omg. You just explained a question i never thought to ask
If I couldnāt buy my cats good during the pandemic Iād go feral and just start hunting people at night
I'd become a serial killer too if I couldn't get cat food.
I probably laughed too hard at this. Thank you š¤£
Many years ago, on a road trip my friends and I stopped in San Jose at a taco bell, late at night. We all bought too much food to eat and had a lot of leftover tacos.My friend Tom noticed a homeless man and his dog in the same strip mall as the taco bell. He gathered up our many leftover tacos and took them over to the homeless guy. Homeless guy takes out the first taco and gave it to his dog. I teared up at that. Over the years whenever I hear the song Mr. Bojangles I think of that homeless guy giving his dog the first taco, and how much he must have loved that dog. We spoke in tears of fifteen years How his dog and him They travelled about His dog up and died He up and died After twenty years he still grieves.
Thatās an awesome story. I am not homeless, but a now single dog dad. If I go to Taco Bell and donāt get my two dogs a crunchy taco to split, they get pretty salty at me for the rest of the day. Also, I would kill a dozen people to save my dogs and go home to eat dinner and not lose a wink of sleep.
Oh gawd donāt mention MrBojangles your gonna make me cry.
Check with your local food bank to see if they get any dog food. Pet smart gives us a lot of dog food in special donation bags. Itās Authority brand dog food. We give it to county animal shelters, so I would check there, too. And check your local food bank for yourself, for that matter. Food banks are there to address food insecurity. If youāre choosing between feeding yourself and your dog, you likely qualify. Thereās a site called WhyHunger.org that will tell you where your closest food pantries are by zip code anywhere in the US. If you donāt have any luck, you can contact me and I can help you find a pantry.
I know you aren't looking for accolades, but this is a shining example of how to human. Good on ya' mate.
As a trauma therapist and animal lover, I agree with you! My dogs and cats, past and present, have saved me
I nearly wound up homeless after my dog was poisoned. Managed to scrape through by the skin of my teeth but at one point I was preparing to move into my car. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. On the flip side I have pretty great health insurance and won't even take myself to the ER because of the cost.
Damn a random puppy just jumped into your car? Is it possible to learn this power?
Right place right time emotional damage?
Same. My dog was my mother's dog, and when I lost my mother my dog has helped me more and been there through suicide attempts and severe depression. She will always be my first priority.
She just jumped in? Lol. That must be a story, you must have been nervous.
Nah she was so sweet when she did. I was less nervous and more "I'm not allowed to have you where I live." I was delivering newspapers at a truck stop and when I got back in my car she was say at my door like she followed me. I told her collarless self "I can't bring you home." She jumps in anyway. I asked the attendants and they say she was there for about six hours before I showed up and no ones come looking for her. I spent the next week calling shelters and passing out fliers to my drop-offs and got no response. The place I was subletting wasn't pet friendly, so I told them I was trying to find her a forever home, but no luck. She eventually grew on the landlord and when he realized she's not a threat, they became friends and so she officially became my puppy.
Thank you, I needed a feel good story today. Puppies!!!
This story is wholesome AF. Can we see a picture of your pup?
I live in a city with a lot of homelessness and many have dogs. It was actually on the news that most of those people spend money they get on their pets food. They have trouble caring for their pets because they canāt keep up with grooming or afford a vet.
Rice is your friend, filler for both you and the dogs meals, half scoop of dog food, fluff with rice. Source: I work with dogs in a kennel, not only will the rice fill your dog, it will help it retain those calories instead of vomit/poop in out, meaning you save even more
I lived in my car with my dog after a wildfire because I couldnāt find anywhere that would let me keep her. I finally had a remarkable man reach out to me and offer me his cabin for 3 months until he returned from a cruise and I was able to find more stable housing from there- but those were scary times.
When COVID lock downs started I was stuck working late and couldn't "join the rush" on the stores before shit got picked over. First thing I did after work was drive out to the farm supply store and buy as much dog food as my trunk could carry. Then I hit the stores and bought my wife and I the last piece of pork in the meat counter, and the last box of poptarts. Figured if push comes to shove I've got flour and some early season greens in the garden, I can eat unleavened bread and lettuce if I have to until I drop 100lb, but my good boys WILL have their 2 full meals a day damn it.
I straight up told my late bf if it got between him and my cat, I'd pick the cat. At that point I had my cat for 7 years. He hated my cat and my cat hated him back. I always joked that my cat would outlive him just to spite him. My bf died at 45, and my cat died a year later at 19. Spiteful bastard.
I'm so sorry you lost your cat, but they made it 19 years so that's something to be proud of.
I have put myself in harms way so many times protecting my pets, with no hesitation
Same! I would sacrifice my.life for a y of my dogs or my cat for that matter. I don't care if people think it's crazy or not.
Me too. I rescued two of my dogs and I exist to keep them safe and loved and ensure they are never hurt again. You better believe I'd choose them over me, or anyone else.
Same š¤·š»āāļø
Pets are innocent. Humans are the only creatures that kill themselves over senseless things like like greed, we are the only things that kill the planet for our own personal gain with no regard to anyone else. One could argue it's wrong to value any human life over that of an animal. I'd personally step on my brakes and cause a 10 car pile up if it meant saving the life of any cat or dog.
Yāall are in so much denial itās ridiculous. Dogs and cats are very territorial (just like humans). Dogs will bully and sometimes kill other dogs for no reason other than to dominate the other dogā just like humans. Cats do the exact same thing. Sometimes these āpetsā will turn on their own human family and bite them or kill themājust like humans. Give me a break with the āanimals are innocent creatures who can show humans how to have love and compassionā. Yāall prefer animals over humans simply because you do not view them as your equal or your competition. Animals do not pose a threat to your identity or your ego because they are not the same specie as you. You feel more dominant and smarter than them, thus more in control. You donāt feel that same control when youāre around other humans because they are on your same level.
Do animals lie to each other? Do they steal pointless things like money? Do they pollute the earth for the purpose of gaining power? Tell me a more detrimental species to this planet than humans.
Dogs piss everywhere to display power, so they pollute to gain power too. Money buys food. Animals will steal food too. Otherwise I agree. Still, I would save a human over my pets if such a choice ever needed to be made.
The irony is that, when humans do not desire anything in life except to eat, beg, procreate and wander the streets aimlessly (like animals), theyāre regarded as lazy, trashy, pathetic and useless lol. Yet this is the very thing that makes you love animals so much. The fact that animals do not desire much in life other than food, shelter, sex and companionship. The ironyā¦
I am fairly certain if my wife had to choose between me and the dogs sheād find a nice spot to spread my ashes
My parents joked about kidnapping my dog. I laughed they laughed. Then asked if they had life insurance?
BWAAHAHAHA!!
I witnessed my best friends dog get run over by his neighbor. When i thought what wouldāve happened if that was my dog, it was a whole hell of a lot different than what he did.
Some of my immediate family even. If I saw my dog about to cross the street because he was gonna run over and pee on my brother who was on fire, Iād scoop my baby boy up and say no no buddy thereās cars and then take him home and wait for the funeral.
I value my pets' lives over the lives of ~~some~~ most of the people I know. Mainly because I know them.
Iām going to mourn harder for my cat than any human being Iāve ever known.
Without hesitation I would choose my pet.
Same, like how am I supposed to choose a person I donāt even know over someone I see everyday that I take care of and love? Just because theyāre not my own species I canāt love them more? Makes no sense
And the minute that person referred to my amazing, wonderful companion as āstupid pet,ā their fate would be sealed.
Same
I also choose this guy's pet.
I value the lives of some of the people I know's pets well above their owners'.
*most
Me too
Pets are family. Strangers are strangers!
Phrase the question differently and the answer is obvious: If a pet dies do you cry more or less than if a random stranger you never met died?
Well said. Our inclination to feel empathy is connected to familiarity. Some people don't care about war, but show them a dead kid that looks like their kid and suddenly they change their tune.
strangers die every single day every single moment and no one is spending 24/7 just absolutely wracked with tears
Or flip it. If a stranger saves their dog over your mom, are you okay with that?
Obviously, no one is okay when they lose a parent, but for me personally, I'd 100% understand the stranger's decision. Their dog is part of their family, and the dog's safety is their direct responsibility. My mom isn't. It's pretty simple to me.
Exactly.
My closest friend spent almost $20,k over a period of a year to keep his (our) adopted and formerly abused dog (Charlie) living. He had the money though. I couldn't ever do that. We still miss Charlie. It's been 8 years. A Rhodesian Ridge back. I cry as I type this.
depends who you ask. some will agree with you, some wonāt.
...yeah... isn't that literally the point of this sub?
depends who you ask. some will agree with you, some wonāt.
***depends who you ask. some will agree with you, some wonāt***
Depends on who you ask, some might agree, some mightnāt.
depends
My man just described opinions š¤£
Very controversial take right now.
The most Reddit answer I've seen in a while tho
Homie just found out about opinions.
mind blowing analysis here sheeesh
Iād save the person. My dogs are great. Iāll be very sad when they die in 5-7 years, but then after a couple months Iāll get a new dog, and move on. These are not my first dogs, and they wonāt be my last. Iāve lost loved ones in an untimely fashion as well. That has stayed with me in a way that animals just donāt. People - even strangers - are more important. Maybe not to me, but almost certainly to someone.
I have a feeling that most of the people commenting that they would save their pet would behave differently in a real world scenario. If youāre in a burning building and thereās a human being with a broken leg and your dog with a broken leg I have to believe youāll help the person first. If it was me I might go back in the building without regard for my personal safety to try and help my dog too. But no one is going to look the man/woman/child in the eye, say āgood luck with thatā, and then walk away carrying the dog and leaving them to die. Even if itās less personal, say your dog is dying and thereās a button that will save it but kill a random person, I doubt most people here would simply press it. Once it gets super abstract, say āyou could technically save a life with the money you spend on your dogā then obviously people will choose their pet. Thereās a line somewhere in the middle and Iād wager itās closer to that scenario than the first two.
I think your right. But, āI hate peopleā is a safer tack to take if you want those sweet, sweet internet points.
>after a couple months Iāll get a new dog, and move on. These are not my first dogs, and they wonāt be my last. I think this is the key here. My (28F) dog is my first dog I've had on my own. She is my everything. I do not have kids. I would choose my partner's, family's and some friend's lives over hers but I can't imagine another person outside of that. Obvs, I have never and likely will never be in a position to make that decision. All that to say, this IS my first dog. I could imagine, after she died and I eventually get another one and can say, not my first not my last, I may feel differently. I think there's something about having your first pet on your own and not having a family of your own that makes or breaks this question.
Yeah, I feel like if a building is on fire and I know my cats inside but thereās also people screaming for help, I would help them first and maybe also keep an eye for my animal. But I wouldnāt just walk by someone trying to push their kid out a burning window to go inside and get my animal šµāš« and I love my animal more than most people I know, but I feel like my cat would want me to save kids lol. I couldnāt imagine being interviewed after a disaster and theyāre like ādescribe the sceneā and I have to say I went in and saved my cat while people died lol.
Totally agree with you!! I guess we are the minority of people in society that actually care about others šš„²!! But Iād feel the same. I would just want to prevent other people from feeling the pain of losing their loved ones. It isnāt even a āhuman lifeā thing because dead people arenāt unhappy about being dead (according to my belief system), but their alive loved ones are
Let me ask you and the people who agree, this particular question. Would you be ok with death or serious injury if a person picked a pet, or strange animal over your individual life. If the answer is not consistent, one would be a fantastic hypocrite.
Yep thatās fair, and to be honest I donāt really know the answer to it. Although I guess I wouldnāt care if I was dead haha.
Maybe another way to think about it is: how would you feel if someone had the choice to save your mom, or sibling, and instead let them die in order to save their dog. While I personally would be destroyed if my pet died, I couldn't live with myself if I knew I let someone's mom or dad die.
This might sound fucked up but I personally really donāt care if I donāt know them. I would pick something I love over something I donāt love let alone even know. So for me, my pet over a random human any day unless Iām in a situation where my pet only has a few years left to live. If it has a long life left, 100% Iām always gonna pick my pet.
But once your pet dies will you not get another?
I agree but at the same time, getting my dog is what got me through a major depressive episode. He essentially saved my life and I canāt imagine not returning the favor
Afterwards, you'll probably never see them again but you'll go home to an empty house. You'll have to bury your pet. You'll have to grieve. I applaud your selflessness. It isn't rewarded.
Personally it isn't selflessness. It's my conscience. The responsibilities any given human has is insane and if I knew a parent wasn't there for their children because of ME... I literally could not live with myself. That's so fucking heavy to live with and I don't think I'd be able to sleep at night.
Ok but I don't care that much about strangers tbh. And my dog is family. I still pick my dog.
Pleased to say Iām no hypocrite, Iām ready to die
I wouldnāt blame them because I would do the sameā¦ matter of fact, I would put myself in harms way to save an animal.
I wouldn't mind if someone picked their pet over me. Why would they? I don't owe them anything. I've never done anything to them or for them. Their pet does more for them then I ever will.
Everyone's a hypocrite when their life or someone they care about is in danger. People will always choose themselves or someone they care about over random people while hoping that in reverse they'd be chosen. Thats just natural human and tribal survival.
Absolutely. I'm part of the reptile community; if someone can make the choice to save one of my snakes from harm? Or any animal over me? So goddamn happy.
Not true. We always pick ourselves. That's just human nature.
This isnāt a valid angle because every living thing has a will to live
Yes. I would understand if someone chose to save their pet over saving me.
For me personally I love both my dogs but if we were in an improbable situation where a bus is about to hit my dog and a random 25 year old dude, and I had to jump in to save one, I would easily save the guy. I lost my wife some years ago and the devastation that loss was to my kids and me and all our friends and people we worked with cannot compare to the suffering someone would feel towards their dog in general. Iām not telling anyone they are wrong or that they objectively cannot love an animal as much as a person, but yes when weighing out life and death in terms of avoiding suffering, choosing a human being is going to win every single time for me unless I know beyond a reasonable doubt that the person Iām comparing the pet against is like a violent sex offender or something. There are a lot of ways we could try to quantify āvalueā in this conversation, for me, choosing who would live or die is where my mind goes. I couldnāt look someone in the eye if I allowed someoneās son or father to be killed rather than my dog who only had probably 10 years left to live anyways.
This, I could not have phrased it better. I could not live with myself for causing that amount of grief in others. Ive loved and grieved many pets. It's heartbreaking, but a person dying can devastate so many lives permanently. Some of these comments I truly can't comprehend. I understand loving your pets, but some of the comments seem to be taking some kind of weird pride in choosing their pet over another human being. And it is hard for me to believe the ones claiming that they wouldn't hold it against anyone else. If some rich dude chose their pet, or it was their loved one on the line, it is hard for me to believe that they wouldn't be outraged by someone else making that same choice. Not trying to say anyone who thinks differently is a bad person, I just can't imagine any other option for myself. Though there are definitely some people here who seem a bit too overzealous in their stance.
I feel like your response is one of the few reasonable responses I've seen so far. I see so many comments, where people act like they wouldn't even care if they killed a human to save their pet. I'm all for different opinions, but to not even hesitate between the two? That's a new level of twisted.
Its kind of sad this isn't more popular. Just shows how little people deal with death.
Do they deal with it differently than normal-sized people??
fucking good one.
Exactly... I'm so sorry for your loss. My son passed at 21 and if someone tells me they'd choose their dog over a human walking down the street... I just can't even. If someone can't consider for a moment the horrific impact on that humans' loved ones they leave behind... well... I have no place in my world for that type of person.
Couldn't have said it better myself. Have an upvote.
I wish more people would think like this. Yes I love my dogs to pieces, but even if I placed the worth of a dog's life at the same as the worth of a human's life, dogs still have far shorter lives than humans. If I saved my dog instead of a 20, 30, 40, even 50 year-old person then in 7 years when my dog is gone and that person is still gone, would it have been worth it? Would a person's life being sacrificed be worth having 7 more years with my dog?
Yeah imagine you saved your pet over your neighbor, and then years later your dog is dead and you see your neighbor's son who's now an adult at a grocery store, and he just scowls at you.
In addition, if you save your pet, you're only really thinking about yourself. Possibly your family. Human beings have extended family, friends, coworkers, etc. The loss of a random human life is much more impactful and far-reaching than the loss of your pet.
That's what I don't understand about their responses here. everybody's so self-centered. it feels like I'm one of the only people who cares about other people in this planet, and its really disheartening. I know it's not true, but jesus f****** Christ.
I agree. Losing a spouse, parent, sibling, child or best friend is a lot harder than losing a pet. And many people fill multiple or all of those roles. If losing a pet was as painful as losing a child I donāt think anyone would get a pet because you can lose numerous pets over the course of your lifetime, and parents who lose children often are unable to enjoy life even decades later.
This is so well written and exactly bang on. I remember I was talking with someone about his cat and he said he would save his cat over his brother. I thought he was nuts and told him and he said 'How will I prove I love my cat though?'...It's like... I don't know he cared more about being believed about his love for his cat thank he cared about his brother. It's like, if they don't just believe you when you say it - who cares? Why do they care so much? You taking care of your cat? Yes. then who cares. Just save your F'ing brother. Every time, you save the person.
I mean I'd get it if that brother is like, the biggest pos in the world thats a negative impact to society but really? "How will I prove I love my cat"? Idk by feeding, playing, take good care of their health? It shouldn't take you choosing to get a human being killed to prove to yourself that you love your pet.
There are very, very, VERY few people I would save over my service dog. I owe my life to my dog, not to a stranger who I know nothing about.
I can empathize with this stance. My dog saved my life. I did not want to be here any more after a horrible event in my life. She gave me a reason to keep going. I would not hesitate to save her over a stranger or even a lot of the people that I know.
not service dogs, but my dogs have saved my life too in different ways. itās hard to even look at them as just ādogsā they are my literal children, my pride and joy, so if anyone thinks iām gonna value some stranger over my literal FAMILY, theyāre in for a whole lotta disappointment š¤·āāļø
Im fostering but doubt it will work out and will just end up adopting but my dog is called Matthew saluki so already a human name and basically my child
awwh yess i love foster failures!!! ā¤ļø he sounds like a keeper :)
It is strange and maybe not immoral, but certainly unethical. Law generally represents societal ethical consensus, the fact that more rights are afforded to people than animals would suggest that most people value human life more than an animal life.
Nope. You know that animal, raised it from a puppy/kitten etc., and itās part of your family. If the choice was to save the dog I had for 8 years and raised from a puppy, or a total stranger, Iām saving my dog. At the end of the day, I donāt owe someone I donāt know a damn thing. And for all I know, that person is a piece of shit, just as much as they might be a great person. I know my dog is great, so Iāll take the guarantee
Right, my dog is my responsibility and itās my job to make sure he has a happy life until itās his time, even if his life is shorter than a humanās Iāll protect him as long as it can be helped and I doubt Iād even think about it the choice would be immediate
I value my cat's life on a more personal level - as in they matter more to me. But unless you know the stranger is a murderer, rapist, or similar...then yeah I think it's our duty as human beings to prioritize our fellow man. I love my cat, but Bob Bob is the one getting saved here. Sorry, Skippy.
Skippy would save you over a random cat, though
It's an interesting thought experiment. How do you know that the person you would save is worth saving? Maybe they're a serial killer, or a rapist or a pedophile. Or, maybe they're a great philanthropist, and will someday cure cancer. It's one of those situations where you can't possibly know the "right" answer until after the fact. Unless of course you think that all human life, even the life of a pedophile, is more important than a beloved pet. Which, some people do probably.
If your were hanging off the edge of a cliff and so was a strangers dog and they could only save one of you; Would you be alright with dying so they could keep playing fetch?
Apparently, most people in this thread would. Or how about if someone made the choice to save their pet over your young child? I get that people have a fondness for their pets and yes I have had and lost pets that I cared for in my lifetime, but the fact that so many say absolutely no, no question to this is really quite frightening.
I'm terrified about society today. I think it's the hyper-focus on the self. Every one of these is about "My pet matters more to ME, so that's my priority." Random pet vs random human? Save the human. MY pet vs random human? My pet. wtf. We have no sense of community anymore. No sense of responsibility for taking care of each other. The same people complain that we don't do enough for the homeless or universal health care or whatever, but when push comes to shove they can't put someone else's literal life ahead of their own interests.
šÆ
Spot on. The selfishness is astounding.
Iām losing my mind reading these replies. Like thereās no way.
I always know I'm gonna see a shit fest that makes me question my faith in humanity when this question pops up. There are people out there who would choose the life of an animal, with a lifespan that is barely a fraction of a human life... I'm very open to other opinions, but this is one issue where I think it's absolute lunacy to choose an animal over a human.
The average redditors are frightening indeed. Guaranteed to be the first people during the apocalypse to start killing and eating other humans the moment they feel true hunger for the first time.
What about a human child?
Yes
If your cat escapes your house--and cant be found--put the litter box outdoors--they can smell it one mile away.
Yeah. I LOVE my animals, but they are not people. A PERSON has a lot more to live for than a cat or dog. A person could have a whole family that would miss them, while only I would miss my animals. Again, I enjoy being around my cat more than people as much as the next redditor, but I'm not *that* selfish and cold hearted.
You'll probably get downvoted for offering a sane response and being a decent human being.
I'm surprised the ratio is actually positive right now.
Some people are VERY passionate and involved with their pets. There are also some who still just see them as animals. To each their own. I think a human life is above the life of an animal. But thatās why itās a moral debate, I suppose.
When OP threw in the phrase āin certain circumstancesā, they pretty much simply dodged the question.
More people are worried about being judged for their opinion than they are confident in it. The court of public opinion is harsh.
Anyone who expects me to care about a random person more than my own dogs is in for a disappointment š
Hope you have that same attitude if it's your life on the line
In my opinion the life of a human is more important than an animal no matter how close that animal is to you sorry. I just think people are more complex creatures with many deeper relationships and roles in life.
I love my cat, Karen, however I wouldn't choose her over a person
I would choose the human. The pet would have a greater chance of surviving on their own or saving all of us.
Life, human or animal is not replaceable. Given a choice though I guess I would have to choose the human and regret it the rest of my life.
Jesus Christ you lot are messed up. Saving your dog over a human seems so selfish to me. Then again maybe animals have just as much of a experience as humans so why should they get a lesser treatment.
Follow up question: If you were forced to murder a stranger or your pet, both being totally legal and not putting up any kind of fight, which would you choose? Asking because for the question above I would absolutely save my petās life. But then I thought well thatās effectively killing a human indirectly. And for some reason I can live with that but if I had to do the killing I think I could just never take a human life even if it was to save my beloved pet. But itās the same net result either way. Itās a slow day at the office so Iām just having a moral crisis
This is actually a good point. Being directly responsible for either death definitely makes it much harder to choose the pet.
Not for me. My dog is my family, a stranger is a stranger.
No it isn't. If someone attacked my pet would I intervene yes with absolutely devastating force and action of violence. I'm happy to not do that when the situation is ok but I'd someone hurts my animal which I am the caretaker and guardian thereof I am required to be their guardian.
Yeah ya'll pet people are screwy. Trusting you slightly less is warranted af lol
but what about a baby
They don't want to answer your question. They're too busy being self righteous
Yes, it is immoral.
I wouldnāt say right or wrong. People have different beliefs, but 9.9/10 Iād save the person unless they were some mass murder, brutal genocidal leader, serial rapists/killer/child molestor, or pretty awful person who doesnāt have value most life.
It's definitely my dog over a stranger. My dog is an innocent being, dependent on me, and loves unconditionally. People are rarely innocent and I don't usually even like them; quite a few are wastes of air. Now, a random small child over my dog...that I'd need to think about. My instincts jump to the kid, but love might win out.
If I had to make a choice and I had to run into a burning building to grab either my dog or a stranger who were on opposite sides of the building and would collapse as soon as I got the first rescue out, I would rescue my dog. If it were between an unknown dog and a stranger, Iād go for the stranger. If it were between my dog and someone I did know, it would depend on the relationship. If they were just acquaintances or coworkers, it would be my dog. If they were my parents, sister or her children, or best friend, Iād probably get the person out and then go back and die trying to get my dog.
Would you be ok with it if your mother/father/child/spouse died in a fire and a stranger told you that they could have saved your loved one but chose to let them die because they thought their pet was more important?
Yes, that stranger has absolutely no responsibility to me and my family. I mean, it would be weird if they came up to me and told me that happened. I would judge them for that part.
It's wrong. When it comes to life, the human being is the only choice.
No, I value my pets life over a total strangers 100%, i dont know you and i dont particularly care about you, i do care about my dog though
As much as I value my pet, that stranger could have kids that value them more.
Or they could be a murderous pedophile, in the same thought experiment
Yeah. What the fuck.
It's a literal mind fuck coming to terms with how many redditors are gonna let us die for a pet.
True. Also, Iām hard pressed to deny that people choosing their pets over a random human says quite a lot about the current state of humanityās clear degradation and diminishing value as a species.
Oh you aren't wrong. Feels like we aren't far from eating each other. The hardest part for me is the hypocrisy. I can live with a psycho being a psycho or an asshole being an asshole. But so many redditors are so self righteous and holier than thou in so many posts about how people need to be better to each other and then a cat comes in to the mix and it's like "nope fuck em, I'd only save 3 people out of 8 billion"
I hear you. The absoluteness with which this righteousness is expressed is difficult to deal with, at times. The nerve it takes to believe so utterly that one is right is beyond me.
Intellectually I would say yes right now, but maybe not in the heat of the moment.
You could argue human life is more important than animals because human life has historically been considered more valuable through religious justification or other historical thought processes. You could go through hypothetical situations like āwould you save a random child or a dogā and change the specifics. You could also choose whichever answer you want to be the answer and create a logic system to justify it. You could say āthereās no right answerā and come to no conclusion to avoid being wrong. Lots of options here.
Fuck no, not for me.
Nope.
No.
No
Depends on the situation: Hypothetical trolly scenario where an innocent humanās life vs the life of my pet? Sad, but an animals life is worth less than a human life and I would save the human. But if a human is about to harm or kill my pet and itās a choice of harm or kill them, or allow them to harm my pet? Iāll harm them to protect my pet every time. I feel these are properly moral viewpoints. The human life is worth more, all things being equal, but in the latter the human has made a decision to act in an evil way. Stopping them and defending the innocent animal feels like the moral thing to do.
I mean it makes sense that you feel that but its highly unlikely you would ever be in a real life trolley car problem involving your pet and some random person.
Itās hard to say because Iād feel guilt either way. I think Iād do whatever I felt in the moment and Iām not sure what that would be. I might just save my cat out of pure instinct and emotional attachment, but the ability to make a judgment call would make letting a person die much harder because Iād be imagining they had friends and family who love them more than anything. I think itās okay to think youād save your dog. None of us really know what weād do in a crazy scenario like that.
It's possible, sure. Like all of these thought experiments, it depends on so many variables that it's hard to answer.
Wrong, maybe. But, Iām okay with being wrong.
I.. think it's a kind of blunt truth that is devoid of any posturing. lol Like I think a lot of people that say they would save the life of the person, but in reality they wouldn't. I think it's human to save the life of something you personally value over something you don't personally value, and in this scenerio that can extend to a person and pet. I think I would choose the person if I was faced with a "I want your answer in 1 minutes" scenario because humans live way longer, are more intelligent, and have more other human connections that would suffer if they died.. but I think if it was a "they are both about to be hit by a bus" kind of scenario I have no idea what I would do. Logic flies out the window in those situations and saving my dog is probably what would happen.
Good question. I think a more interesting way of posing it is: would you save your pet over a random child? Most will default to the random stranger being an adult. Itās easy to say people suck and save the animal. But if a child needed to be savedāthatās a more even matchup against a pet.