Please Don't Eat Our Best Friends

[UsernameWithA9]

Yesterday, I was thoroughly disgusted by one user's forum posts about eating dog meat. He or she boasted about it in the Psychiatrist thread and then created their own thread entitled Dog Meat Is Delicious, which contained images of dead dogs laying on a table at some sort of outdoor market in China or somewhere. I forget exactly what country but that's not relevant. At risk of committing what's called 'naming and shaming', I won't mention the user's name but you moderators know who I'm talking about because you removed that thread soon after I reported it. So thanks for that!

But I can't simply let it go without injecting some positivity to balance the scale. So, despite this thread's odd title, I'd like this to become sort of a dog appreciation thread. I live in the States and we love our dogs or at least most of us do. Admittedly, there are people here who treat dogs badly. They pit them against each other in to-the-death fights, they hoard them, drive them out to rural areas and abandon them, puppy mills. Like I said earlier, we love our dogs here so if/when they're caught, they'll face penalties of our animal cruelty laws. Which aren't as stiff as I'd like, by the way, but it is what it is.  

I'll begin by posting some choice quotes from various dog lovers and encourage anyone to post whatever you like as long as it follows the theme of this thread. Here we go...

• When an eighty-five-pound mammal licks your tears away, then tries to sit on your lap, it’s hard to feel sad. ~Kristan Higgins

• Happiness is a warm puppy. ~Charles M. Schulz

• If I could be half the person my dog is, I’d be twice the human I am. ~Charles Yu

• Dogs come into our lives to teach us about love. They depart to teach us about loss. A new dog never replaces an old dog, it merely expands the heart. ~Erica Jong

• There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face. ~Ben Williams

• I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive. ~Gilda Radner

• If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience. ~Woodrow Wilson

• Petting, scratching, and cuddling a dog could be as soothing to the mind and heart as deep meditation and almost as good for the soul as prayer. ~Dean Koontz

• I have found that when you are deeply troubled, there are things you get from the silent devoted companionship of a dog that you can get from no other source. ~Doris Day

• Such short little lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home each day. ~John Grogan

And just so everyone knows, August 26th is Dog Appreciation Day. So, mark that on your calendar as the day to either adopt a dog from a local shelter, lavish your own dog with treats and loving or, if you don't have a dog, celebrate the day by donating your time and money to the local animal and dog shelter. They'll be happy to see you!

Cheers.

[AlienSlof]

The more I see of humans, the more I love my dog. And my cats. ~ Me

My dog was rescued in a raid on a puppy farm. Her start in life was rubbish because of that, and when I adopted her, I vowed to fill her life with fun and cuddles. She lives with 4 elderly cats and is now an honorary cat! She will be 4 years old this month.

In my time, I have had pets of all different species and as a result I don't eat animals at all. I'm glad I never saw that thread.

[UsernameWithA9]

52 minutes ago, AlienSlof said:

The more I see of humans, the more I love my dog.

I don't currently have a dog but have had the privilege since childhood of caring for several throughout my life so I can definitely agree with you. My first dog was an Alaskan Huskie that my dad acquired from somewhere, I forget. I'm sure you've heard about dogs knowing when a child's school bus arrives and being there when that child steps off the bus? Well, it's all true. My Huskie was one of those dogs, loyal and dependable to the core. She'd wait in the morning with me and be there when I got home. She wasn't trained to do it, she just did. I was around 11 or 12 and sadly don't remember her name. I'm bad with names but still remember her striking blue eyes.

Anyways, thank you for that. I haven't thought about her in years.

[UsernameWithA9]

If anyone has ever seen the television show Pit Bulls and Parolees, you know what a rock star of a human and dog owner/trainer/behaviorist Tia Marie Torres is, as well as her two daughters and supporting family at Villalobos Rescue Center. She's one of my personal heroes and I'd like to take this opportunity to send some positive energy her way as a way of saying thanks for all she has done for all breeds of dogs, not just pit bulls, throughout the years. She won't know I'm doing it but that isn't the point.

Her efforts began in California back in the '90s. Back then Villalobos was a wolf/wolf-hybrid rescue and evolved primarily into a pit bull rescue just before moving to New Orleans, Louisiana. Needless to say, I've watched just about every episode of the show's 19 season run and have yet to watch one single episode that didn't put a tear in my eye for some reason or other.

And, as an aside, I'd like to mention her eldest daughter, Mariah. She's her mother's daughter for sure because she's just as dedicated to the cause, perhaps more so, than Tia. But anyways... Mariah, if you ever get tired of what's his name, look me up!

[ScytheBearer]

I find the hypocrisy of some Westerners simply fascinating.  You will eat a hamburger without a second thought, while a whole culture in India and beyond is nauseated and revolted.  Then you become indignant because those peoples don't revere the same animals as you and choose a different source for their protein. 

And the attendant elitism is even worse.  You insist the whole planet should adopt your ethical and moral viewpoint while completely ignoring that other peoples have their own ethical and moral traditions.  You denigrate and belittle these other traditions as inferior and archaic, labeling them as superstition; never slowing; even for a second, to realize that those very appellations fit your traditions.    

Such people add ever more vulgarity to the meaning of "Ugly American". 

[UsernameWithA9]

Oh please. Just keep riding by on your high horse, @ScytheBearer. And folks in India will eat whatever they eat without a second thought while a whole culture in another part of the world find it abhorrent. I personally find Indian cuisine delicious and their religion fascinating and worthy of respect. I'm not your average Westerner but I do love and respect dogs. And I will continue to eat hamburgers, steaks, chickens, turkeys, bison, and pigs; one, because I'm human and humans are omnivores. Two, because that's what's on the menu here in the States and it's part of our tradition. Three, because there's no attachments, emotional or otherwise, to cows, pigs, bison, chickens and turkeys for me. And four, because they're delicious.

Why did you have to turn this into a debate about global ethics? I wasn't denigrating or belittling an entire nation. I was simply expressing my disgust regarding the actions of one user in particular. He was clearly posting the images for shock value. He also boasted earlier on another thread about being a Satanist. That's kind of their M.O. If he had posted images of the inner workings of a beef processing plant, I would have been equally offended. Yeah, I know. Westerners don't like to see how the sausage is made. Ironic, right? But you get my point.

Can we get back to the dog appreciating please?

And by the way, since you called me ugly, I find your username a bit pretentious. 

 

Edited Saturday at 02:41 AM by UsernameWithA9
Afterthoughts

[ScytheBearer]

I spoke in generalities and spoke of no individual.  I spoke of Westerners (plural) and peoples (plural), and traditions (plural).  It saddens me to see that the literacy in America (collectively plural) has descended to the point that people (plural) are not educated enough to know that "you" is also plural when used in that context.  Instead, they (plural) see the word "you" and; not being literate enough to understand the linguistic subtly of singular vs plural, internalize the comments and take it personally. 

Then those people (plural) believe that their personalization of a general comment entitles them (plural) to spout ad hominems and disparaging comments and present obscene gestures towards individuals.  

It is further saddening that people (plural) are so poorly educated that they (plural) do not know The Ugly American is the title of a book.  Said book documents the very insensitivities to other peoples (plural) and cultures (plural) I spoke of. 

Heavy sigh.  I despair for America. 

 

 

 

[UsernameWithA9]

2 minutes ago, ScytheBearer said:

I spoke in generalities

Why did you even speak at all when I clearly requested in my initial post for folks to comment about their affinity for dogs? And again I ask: Why are you turning this into a debate?

I edited my response while you replied. Refresh the page to read it, second paragraph. I could post it here but context is important. Since you now want to ride the high horse about literacy.

[AlienSlof]

I'd just like to point out that I'm not American and I find eating any meat abhorrent. Doesn't mean I'm going on the warpath against meat-eaters! Each to their own and all that. I used to walk home from school past a slaughterhouse and the screams of pigs knowing they're going to die was horrendous. Thus, because of welfare issues and intelligent animals, I chose to no longer eat them. Been happily veggie ever since. I also grew up among farm animals and had a pet chicken who liked to sit on my lap and watch telly. I have no problem with farm animals that have lived a good life being used for meat. Welfare is always my highest priority, just as it was with my grandparents who owned the farm I played on. Both my dad and I have ridden cows as kids just because we could!

I also have 4 cats, a dog and a tortoise. I don't force my eating choices upon them as that would be irresponsible. The tortie is veggie though!

As already mentioned, the offending topic that this was about was posted purely for shock value. That had no place here. Although OP and I come from dog-loving countries, not everyone is kind to them. My little dog was destined to be a puppy factory, pumping out cockerpoos and wasn't even fed properly. She was skin and bone when rescued, covered in dirty, matted wool. She's now happy with her own bed, as much food as she needs and lots of walks and other fun. She's a super little house dog and very clean (and daft!). However, she has no idea what dog toys are as she was simply thrust into a barn with a lot of other dogs and left to get on with it. Some people just suck.

[UsernameWithA9]

11 hours ago, ScytheBearer said:

I spoke in generalities and spoke of no individual.  I spoke of Westerners (plural) and peoples (plural), and traditions (plural).  It saddens me to see that the literacy in America (collectively plural) has descended to the point that people (plural) are not educated enough to know that "you" is also plural when used in that context.  Instead, they (plural) see the word "you" and; not being literate enough to understand the linguistic subtly of singular vs plural, internalize the comments and take it personally. 

Then those people (plural) believe that their personalization of a general comment entitles them (plural) to spout ad hominems and disparaging comments and present obscene gestures towards individuals.  

It is further saddening that people (plural) are so poorly educated that they (plural) do not know The Ugly American is the title of a book.  Said book documents the very insensitivities to other peoples (plural) and cultures (plural) I spoke of. 

Heavy sigh.  I despair for America.

I was contemplating this last night because of it's oddity and it became clear that the entire response was a passive-aggressive back-peddling of your first post of this thread. Not to mention you were being condescending as well. Ugh! The first post was all passive-aggressiveness too. You (singular) say you (singular) spoke in generalities, which may be true, but you (singular) did that so you (singular) would not have to face your real target, me (also singular). You were calling me out because I'm an American and you choose this opportunity to spout what now seems like rhetoric from the book you mentioned, Ugly American. Did you just copy/paste that from the book? And you think that just because someone is ignorant of an assumingly obscure book title that you read to be poorly educated? Your some kind of narcissist, aren't you?  You gave no indication that it was the title of a book so I relied on my intuitiveness to guide me. I've visited other countries during my military days and have been exposed to anti-American sentiments. That book title could just as easily have been spoken by that crew of Italian teenagers who bottle-bombed my friends and I from an apartment balcony as we passed drunkenly below during our liberty porting of Naples, Italy. You were calling me an Ugly American. Just admit it. Don't be passive-aggressive about it. I've been called much worse, by the way, so that insult didn't bother me. It was simply the perfect opportunity for me to call you pretentious and use the middle finger emoticon. I've been waiting months to use that! And yes, it was all I had hoped for. Quite satisfying actually.

Please don't post here again unless you have something positive to say about dogs.

6 hours ago, AlienSlof said:

As already mentioned, the offending topic that this was about was posted purely for shock value. That had no place here.

Thanks for the back-up on that. It helps verify that my instincts about that user were correct. And bless you for your kindness towards your daft little Cockapoo and the rest of your animal clique.

12 hours ago, ScytheBearer said:

Heavy sigh.

 Now, it's my turn to sigh a breath of relief that hopefully my thread can get back on track after the derailment attempt. To future readers: If you're considering posting something similar to what was previously posted, don't. Refer back to the first post of this thread and reread the parts where I explain the theme of this thread. This part: "I'd like this to become sort of a dog appreciation thread." and this part: "...encourage anyone to post whatever you like as long as it follows the theme of this thread."

You know, I find it amusingly ironic that someone who spoke so authoritatively about literacy and reading comprehension missed those parts. That's a real head scratcher. Or maybe he or she just had an agenda. I don't know. 

Anyways, cheers folks!