Ann Althouse, who reads a magazine I gave up on when it went full Trump-Deranged, flagged an article called “Too Many People Own Dogs: If you love dogs, maybe don’t get one.” Ann belongs to a dog-loving family so she has some credibility in the area, but the author, Rose Horowitch, who talks about ethics a lot in the article, is seriously confused, and I’m surprised Ann doesn’t see it.
The article begins with a discussion of dogs on Prozac and how anxious people make their dogs anxious. First, the average dog owner is not going to put a dog on Prozac. It is true that dogs, being natural empaths, often mirror the moods of their owners; on the other hand, dogs without behavioral issues make anxious people less so. Dogs also want a job, and if keeping an anxious adult from freaking out is their role, that’s fine with them.
The main argument in the article is that most dog owners are too busy to give their dogs the attention and exercise they want and need. That’s true too, but dogs are grateful for what they can get. This is the flawed ethics logic of allowing the perfect to be the enemy of the good. It reminds me of the parents of a friend back in Massachusetts who announced that they were euthanizing their wonderful, boisterous boxer mix because they were moving to a senior community where dogs were not allowed. “We don’t want her to be with a family that doesn’t love her like we do,” they explained. I was aghast, and not especially diplomatic. “You know,” I said, “I’m pretty sure that if you asked Roxy, she’d say, “Hey, I like you guys all right, but don’t do me any favors. I’ll miss you for a while, but I’d rather live, thanks.”
“People who adopt ‘rescue’ dogs may feel proud of their ethics, but they’re more likely to begin with a dog that is already anxious. And the way people live today, they may plan to keep the dog indoors nearly all the time,” Rose writes. I agree that having a dog is a big responsibility that a lot of dog-owners underestimate, but it’s not like having a child that your lifestyle won’t accommodate. Rescue dogs exist whether you take them in or not, and if you don’t, they may be kept in crates, moved around, or killed. Dogs adjust to their owners and vice-versa: given a choice, I guarantee they would prefer an imperfect owner than no owner at all.
And now Spuds (above) is looking at me and wagging his whip-tale like crazy. It’s time for a walk.
Ethics Alarms 
I will disagree a little. I think that people who can’t responsibly own dogs shouldn’t for the good of the community. I was attacked by an unleashed and unattended dog again 2 weeks ago. I had to blow through a stopsign on my bike to escape. In July, an unleashed and unattended dog tried to attack me while I mowed a yard. That brought to 3 the times I have had to draw a gun on a dog ( I luckily haven’t had to shoot any of them). The police shoot and kill 1 dog/ day or more in my town due to people who just let the dogs out to roam. I have encounters with aggressive, unleashed and unattended dogs numerous times/year. I like friendly dogs, my neighbor’s dogs love me, but the number of large, aggressive dogs that are allowed to roam seriously affects the quality of life in this town. My cousin, for example, probably shouldn’t own dogs. His one dog was so aggressive that it killed and ate his labrador retriever. The neighbor’s young son witnessed the attack from his own back yard and the neighbor threatened to shoot the dog if my cousin didn’t get rid of it. My cousin wasn’t happy with me when I told him that I agreed with the neighbor.
I think the idea of not adopting a dog because you have anxiety is stupid. I sort of agree with the idea that people shouldn’t adopt a husky if they live in an efficiency apartment in a hot climate (it was awful to witness that). There are plenty of dogs to adopt that would be fine in an apartment. Not adopting a dog because you will make it an aggressive danger to the neighborhood, however, I think is a good idea. If the author wanted to write an article about why some people shouldn’t own dogs, why didn’t she write that one?
Awww! What a great pic! Spuds is like, “Whadda ya want from me”?
I find the world lately to be very anxiety inducing. Lockdowns, inflation, the threat of WW3… My anxiety has upset my dog so much that she sleeps upside down in her bed, legs akimbo, belly exposed. Apparently my anxiety doesn’t interest her. Lack of cheese interests her. Car rides interest her. Human anxiety not so much. Maybe I should get her some Prozac to address her cheese addiction.
“Maybe I should get her some Prozac to address her CHEESE ADDICITON.” (bolds/caps/italics mine)
As a resident in good standing of America’s Dairyland, I will state unequivocally that there is no proven clinical condition known as CHEESE ADDICTION.
CHEESE NEED…welp…perhaps…
PWS
Are you implying that her constant cheese begging is a result of me spoiling her rotten rather than addiction? Outrageous allegations!
The only problem with dogs is they are far too adorable to resist.
“The only problem with dogs is they are far too adorable to resist.”
AND they know how to work you; mere mortals don’t stand a chance.
PWS
I think the better thought is dogs who love people should not adopt some people.
I know that is a clumsy attempt at being snarky but I have to agree that there is a segment of the population who have no business enjoying a companion animal. Those who treat these animals as a route to alpha maleness ( Joe Biden and his German Shepards ) or simply for some narcissistic need to demonstrate wealth are not responsible pet parents.
Animals deserve quality caretakers and not all humans can fulfill that role. Therefore, just because you think you love dogs that is not proof that you will be responsible if your needs will always take priority over the dog’s.
I would think that learning to be responsible and to put the dog’s needs over one’s own is the DEFINITION of loving dogs. If you can’t do that, or (worse) you aren’t willing to do that, then you don’t really love dogs, do you?
–Dwayne
Agreed.great point
Well, Remy does NOT approve of this article. No, he does not. For him, the mere fact that he has completed our house and made our lives better is icing on his cake.
As I tell everyone, Remy’s magnificence grows exponentially everyday, if not hourly.
jvb