Is keeping a pet a status symbol?
@Pushhyarag2000 (1416)
India
October 16, 2011 9:57am CST
Loving animals and being compassionate to their right to live is a laudable trait. However flaunting a pet dog appears to me to be an exhibition of status. The body language of many of the people who make a public display of their possession to me seems a show off. Do you truly love your pet? Which pet do you keep at home?
7 responses
@ravi_s2025 (510)
• India
17 Oct 11
A lot of people think that keeping a pedigreed dog breed is a status symbol but i am not one amongst them.Even in countries where dogs are being loved crazily ,they still consider getting pedigree dogs than mutts or aboriginal dogs.Some people make fun of me when i walk my dog because my dog is an aboriginal dog so they say..see that doberman,,Alsatian Alsatian etc to make fun of me as well as my dog.But i dont care 1 bit about that.
@puccagirl (7294)
• Israel
17 Oct 11
Yes, some people do have weird ideas and views of mutt dogs, that's true. I think that's kind of strange though, mutts usually have nicer personalities than pure breds (some of them anyway), so I actually prefer mutt dogs. Both of my dogs are from dog shelters too, so not only did I get two companions when I got them, I feel I saved 2 animals' lives at the same time. So it was really a win/win situation for all of us!
@katcarneo (1433)
• Philippines
17 Oct 11
We should love all animals regardless of breed. Here too in the Philippines, having a dog of a foreign breed is something to be rather proud of, and most of the time only those kinds of pets are the ones people take care of well. Generally the mutts don't receive so much love. Only a few would treat an ordinary dog and a foreign breed dog equally.
I have two cats and they were strays when I got them. They are not of a special breed, just what we call in the Philippines "pusang-kalye" or street cat. However, they are well taken-care of. They are well-fed, bathed, and well-loved. As a result, they are healthy and beautiful cats and I have been asked many times what breed they are. Even my mom who dislikes cats complimented my pets on her last visit, because they look good.
Sometimes people think I must be rich to feed my pets cat food and buy them collars and take them to the vet so in a way the pets become a status symbol even if that was not the intent. But what I do want to show people is that taking care of a pet is a responsibility and we must not take pets if we are not able to provide for them.
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
17 Oct 11
It really does seem like the fact that pets are used as a trophy or a status symbol. Which quite frankly is appalling to me, as they want all of the fun of having a pet but none of the responsibility of having a pet. Therefore they do not get properly trained and therefore, there are just a lot of issues that really punish the poor animal.
But people really do not care, they only care about the fact that they have a dog. It really does appall me. As of this moment, no pets in my household right at the moment. I really don't have the time to properly care for them at the moment. Perhaps on another day, I might revisit that decision but it is really something that I am not going to do all that much right now. Still pets are being used more as status symbols and less and less as actual pets, another furry member of our families.
@katcarneo (1433)
• Philippines
17 Oct 11
It is true that people should have the knowledge on how to rear pets and the commitment and the money to actually do it, and not have pets just for the sake of showing them around. So if we will not be able to really take care of them since we are busy with other things, then might as well not get a pet. In our local language, the word "pet" is "alaga" which translates to something like "what I take care of."
@puccagirl (7294)
• Israel
17 Oct 11
I don't think so, I mean at least where I live, a lot of rich people don't have pets. I personally have two pets, two dogs, because I really like dogs. I grew up with dogs, and think they really bring so much joy to my life. Sure, I train them, but they are well taken care of and happy. So they are their own individuals, not my possessions only.
@DoctorDidi (7018)
• India
16 Oct 11
Keeping a pet may not be a status symbol to all but of course some take it as a status symbol.
@safety69 (592)
• Taiwan
17 Oct 11
Hi , I dont know what is "status symbol" but , i want to share something about pets. They say that to have pets makes you more human and loving person. A year ago my friend pick up a dog from the street , she took him to the bet and he was healthy, passed 2 weeks and her husband started getting an respiratory allergy ,so, She called me and asked me if I wanted the dog ? (I dont like dogs inside the house)I told her : not. But then she asked me to take care of the dog for 2 weeks while she find a new home for the dog. I thought for a moment and said just to helped her. Ok . Next, my kids felt inlove with the dog, we decided to keep it, we used to take him out for walks and to do his necesities (Pup and Pi) we fet him and clean him, but she was so crazy dog he bit my son s hand, and then he started pupping inside the house and pii everywhere, I try to teach him , bought a liquid for making him pip in a place but , he didnt learn. so , I gave him away to my brother in law he is a bet , he still has it. Now I have 2 little turtles and they are so tiny that for now its easy to take care of, let see when they grow up , have no idea what i am going to do with them , I hope they will survive the enviroment, We live in a small apartment so we will try to do the best.
@vasumathi (436)
• India
17 Oct 11
personally i dont like to keep pets in home. But i like to spend time with pets until they are outside the home. So i dont think so, keeping a pet as a status symbol.
@GemmaR (8517)
•
16 Oct 11
I think that a lot of people keep pets as status symbols, however I just like to keep them because I like to have something to care for and something to talk to when I am at home on my own. I have kept dogs and cats in the past, however I don't think that it would be fair for me to keep these any more because of the fact that I have to work for such long hours and wouldn't be able to give them enough attention. I only keep small animals now, and currently own three gerbils and two fish. That is more than enough for me at this moment in time.
