Had a sick horse once. Parted its hair and changed its name to Pal.

Jewely,

"I have a pet rat."

...surely you mean a filigree Siberian hamster....

What a stupid, stupid idea.

I don't quite agree with Pericles and Houellebecq that having pets necessarily means 'humanizing' them and that it's an antiquated concept.

Our ancestors used them practically for hunting. People with pets tend to suffer less stress and live longer. For those who live alone, a pet is a logical, economic way of alleviating feelings of loneliness, regardless of whether they're human. Pets can bring joy. That's about all the logic I need.

I do agree however, that protecting the 'cute' animals and the hypocrisy of eating some animals and not others is foolish. The only basis I have for discriminating about what animals I'll eat is whether they're endangered and whether they taste good. I won't contribute to the decline of an animal that's already rare, but I'll happily eat cute animals.

I've tried dog. I don't eat it anymore because it tastes awful. Those who were protesting against eating horses are silly fools. We happily eat bacon and pigs are as intelligent as any dog, perhaps more so. A horse has a whole lot of meat. Eating them seems like a great idea.

In regards to the topic of the thread, I can't help but wonder if the author has any experience of the issue at all. Animals are put down for the following reasons:

A) They are in pain.
B) They have no owner.
C) They have an owner, but treating their health issue is too expensive.

A) is a kindness. B) is a practicality. The alternative is releasing them on the street, allowing them to go feral or starve, which results in them either killing other animals, contributing to dangerous unsanitary conditions with packs of wild dogs, or ultimately, cruel to the dog.

Don't get me started on the damage feral cats can wreak upon our native environment.

As for C) it's an unfortunate situation. Most owners would stump up the money, but some can't and a small percentage don't care to. In this situation, we then revert to situation b).

That is the reality. Moaning about it doesn't change things.

Jayb I don’t think you’re making anyone here squirm. We aint poncy poodle owners… err, actually I do own a poodle. Damn.

[cough] jes et hamster Poirot, only one en shop he make special price.

Hmm... Let's see what have I eaten. Cattle, buffalo, Horse, Pig, Sheep, Chooks, Ducks, Pigeon, Flying Fox, Turtle, Crocodile, Fish, Shark, Clam, Crab, Prawns, Monkey, Dog, I'm sure I eaten Cat, Rabbit, Hare, Snake, Deer, Dik Dik (sort of miniture deer), Wallaby/Kangaroo, Bandicoot, Possom. It's all good edible meat. There are a few more I'd like to try before I die, like Whichety Grub. Oh, Grasshopper & Ground Crickets are very crunchy. If it's food I'll eat it.

I think that where the problem lies is that some people think that their pets are a human part of the family. Their pets are all the family some people have. These people think that everybody should be like them. "It ain't gonna happen."

Some people are airy fairy, some people arn't, but most people are inbeteen. It depends on the circunstance at the time as to how they act.

I have a dog and she is my companion on walks, exercise that I probably wouldn't get except that she needs it.
She is my hunting companion and gets really excited when I bring a gun out, she knows what is coming.
She and I are hunters (and gatherers when the blackberries are on, she eats them too), we are both meat eaters and killers. She sets rabbits well and has retrieved them also, she is the product of a pedegree Rhohesian Ridgeback and a roaming German Shepherd who could climb fences and was seen escaping after the deed was done.

She has helped by smelling out foxes and has been partly responsible for the demise of some hundreds of the thousands that I've killed.
At home she does duty as a watch dog and during the day keeps a special watch on the chickens giving the alarm when any birds of prey are around, she barks at crows, magpies, hawks etc., but ignores galahs and cockatoos (how does she know?).
When she becomes terminally ill and is suffering, as she may one day, then I shall do the right thing by her and kill her myself, quickly and humanely, with a bullet to the back of her head.
I shall undoubtedly shed some tears, we've been mates for twelve years now, but she'll get the ultimate relief from my hand, it goes against the grain to pay someone to do it.