The misanthropy behind the love
It is a strange bit of generational continuity that both I and my son had the same summer job while in high school: Working for a veterinarian at the local animal hospital. It can’t be coincidence, then, that we both tend to shake our heads in amazement at the expense pet owners will incur on behalf of their animals.
When I read about the $72 million animal hospital planned for N.C. State University — where pets will get the latest chemotherapy treatments and be diagnosed with cutting-edge imaging equipment — my head-shaking was so vigorous that I practically gave myself whiplash. Good thing that didn’t actually happen. I doubt my health care would be nearly as good as that lavished on Fido these days.
That’s not an exaggeration. Human health care can be hit-or-miss, depending on your insurance coverage and the cold-blooded economic calculations behind the approval of treatment. But as this recent articleon Slate.com pointed out, cost is rarely a consideration when treatments are proposed by a vet. The pet owner almost always agrees to anything, damn the expense. Americans spend something in the neighborhood of $20 billion a year on their pets.
I like dogs and cats just fine. Had some of each at various times in my life. But I have to tell you, the investment of tens of thousands of dollars on advanced medical care for a pet seems obscene.
How do you spend that much on an animal when so many human needs go unmet? It’s one thing to spring for rabies shots (which are required by law anyway) and good-quality pet chow. It’s quite another to spend an amount of money that could otherwise pay the premiums for a year or two of health insurance for a poor family. Or provide a year’s worth of tuition, room and board for an underprivileged minority student. If your pet gets cancer, ask the vet for good dope and keep it comfortable for the short remainder of its life. That’s the compassionate and reasonable thing to do.
I am awestruck (and not in a good way) that a wealthy and now-deceased man donated $24 million to make the new N.C. State animal hospital a reality. Anyone who is aware of the needs of humankind around the world and instead donates a fortune for pet care is the very definition of a misanthrope.
That’s something I’d noticed about many pet owners a long time ago, though. Some of them have simply decided that, on balance, pets are more worthy of love and care than any human ever will be.
SOURCE: http://gearino.com/index.php/2007/11/16/the-misanthropy-behind-the-love/
When I read about the $72 million animal hospital planned for N.C. State University — where pets will get the latest chemotherapy treatments and be diagnosed with cutting-edge imaging equipment — my head-shaking was so vigorous that I practically gave myself whiplash. Good thing that didn’t actually happen. I doubt my health care would be nearly as good as that lavished on Fido these days.
That’s not an exaggeration. Human health care can be hit-or-miss, depending on your insurance coverage and the cold-blooded economic calculations behind the approval of treatment. But as this recent articleon Slate.com pointed out, cost is rarely a consideration when treatments are proposed by a vet. The pet owner almost always agrees to anything, damn the expense. Americans spend something in the neighborhood of $20 billion a year on their pets.
I like dogs and cats just fine. Had some of each at various times in my life. But I have to tell you, the investment of tens of thousands of dollars on advanced medical care for a pet seems obscene.
How do you spend that much on an animal when so many human needs go unmet? It’s one thing to spring for rabies shots (which are required by law anyway) and good-quality pet chow. It’s quite another to spend an amount of money that could otherwise pay the premiums for a year or two of health insurance for a poor family. Or provide a year’s worth of tuition, room and board for an underprivileged minority student. If your pet gets cancer, ask the vet for good dope and keep it comfortable for the short remainder of its life. That’s the compassionate and reasonable thing to do.
I am awestruck (and not in a good way) that a wealthy and now-deceased man donated $24 million to make the new N.C. State animal hospital a reality. Anyone who is aware of the needs of humankind around the world and instead donates a fortune for pet care is the very definition of a misanthrope.
That’s something I’d noticed about many pet owners a long time ago, though. Some of them have simply decided that, on balance, pets are more worthy of love and care than any human ever will be.
SOURCE: http://gearino.com/index.php/2007/11/16/the-misanthropy-behind-the-love/
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