Rebuilding Rob

The following applies to pet owners who actually take care of their pets; those who do. It neglect or abuse them.

The best thing about having a pet is unconditional love.

We use that phrase a lot in life – unconditional love – but I can’t think of a better example of it than the loyalty that a pet has for it’s owner.

There’s a clip from one of Chris Rock’s standup specials where he says “only women, children and dogs are loved unconditionally. A man is only loved under the condition that he provides something”. While I agree with this sentiment regarding to men, I think he’s wrong on the rest of it. With all due respect to Chris Rock, my experience has been that only children and pet owners are loved unconditionally.

I haven’t had any pets for the last few years but I’ve had dogs and/or cats for most of my childhood and adult life. I’ve always taken good care of them. I’ve never been one to abuse or neglect them and I can tell you that every one of them would have walked through fire for me if I asked them to.

With all due respect to Chris Rock, my experience has been that only children and pet owners are loved unconditionally.

When I was in college, I had a neighbor who had a dog, but he would not touch it. He would not allow people to physically interact with it. He justified by saying that he wanted the dog to be aggressive toward humans. The rationale being that the dog would be aggressive if it didn’t have any positive human interactions?

Personally I think he was training the dog to fight. If that’s the case, then he’s a piece of shit. But if he was really concerned about the dog protecting him, my experience is that he would get much better results by being a loving, caring owner. If you care for your pet, they will follow you off of a cliff.

And some cats would too, but definitely not all cats. Because…cats…

In your opinion, what is the best thing about having a pet?

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The article “The Best Thing About Having A Pet” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.