Cold mountain rivers seem to feel good on arthritic fifteen-year-old joints.It's a good thing Jon Katz started a blog, because he says things so much better than I can. I guess a man with a jillion books under his belt ought to have a way with these things. Today he explains beautifully the distinction I wasn't really getting at successfully in this post. I couldn't articulate why not seeing animals as our children doesn't diminish the power of our relationships with them. Go read.
It's not that dogs or animals aren't "as much as" our children. Rather, they do things in our lives that children cannot, or should not. They're ambassadors from another world that we've left behind in our rush to mini-malls and suburbia.
I'm not objecting to those who feel a nurturing relationship with their pets akin to what we might feel with our children. But if that's as far as we go, we're bringing animals too far into our world, and not venturing enough into theirs. And that's a loss for both of us.
It's not that dogs or animals aren't "as much as" our children. Rather, they do things in our lives that children cannot, or should not. They're ambassadors from another world that we've left behind in our rush to mini-malls and suburbia.
I'm not objecting to those who feel a nurturing relationship with their pets akin to what we might feel with our children. But if that's as far as we go, we're bringing animals too far into our world, and not venturing enough into theirs. And that's a loss for both of us.
1 comment:
Thanks for posting this link - I think his thoughts are very interesting - and I think that's the kind of relationship I'd like with our dogs too. I'll have to check out his blog from now on.
Post a Comment