I once had a friend who asked me “what can your pets do for you?” or in other words, “how can your pets work for you?”. There is always a primitive thought that comes to a regular person’s mind as regard to the relationship between man and beast. Throughout history, it is always the animals working for their human counterparts. Certain dog breeds are bred for a reason e.g. to work as a sheep dog. In short, animals were and are still used to add convenience to their masters’ life.
I cannot help but to wonder how this scenario has changed especially in my situation. I consider myself slaving for my pets instead of the other way around. Can we still ask the same question “how can my pets work for me”? I guess not anymore. We go out of the way just to meet the needs of our pets. Or should I say most of the time it is our perception of their needs? Because we assume based on our human perception and assumption? So what exactly are their needs and our wants?
Laurie’s latest blog entry inspired me to write this post. And I could relate to what she is trying to point out very easily. In a way I felt that her rabbits are working for her in terms of achieving her goals on the show table. What is the underlying objectives then? She is definitely serious about what is going on during the shows and do not seemed to be doing it all for self gains. The obvious achievements that I can see her getting out of this hobby is meeting friends and sharing so much experiences with people having the same interests. I guess it is the community attachments that is more fulfilling. These are just my assumption based on what I have read on her interesting blog. So, are her bunnies working for her in a way then?
Another question is, when would it be a cut off point for us to stop imposing our own perceptions/beliefs onto our pets or somebody else? I guess, we do not need to compare between human and animal because even as individuals, every situation is so subjective.
Here’s the blog entry by Laurie that is worth reading:
http://www.thenaturetrail.com/blog/2008/03/rabbits-are-not-people.html#links
Tru-Luv Rabbitry: Quality Holland Lops in Malaysia 