The Problem with Pets

Let me start off by saying that I love animals. I like dogs, cats, guinea pigs, and horses. I comprehend the fascination with snakes, ants, geckos, birds, and ferrets. I have nothing at all against animals. Okay?

A friendly cat in the Meteora of Greece. 4/3/2016.

When I started traveling full time back in 2013, one of the first questions I was asked was whether I was taking a dog. I was pretty much appalled. No. No pets.

I carefully explained that having a pet in my traveling circumstances would be unfair to the animal. It would spend hours a day in my truck where I would have to figure out a way to leave it safely when I stopped to eat, get coffee, tour a museum, or visit any of the hundreds of places where pets are not allowed. I would have to leave it behind when I took an airplane, arranging care for the pet. Or not travel. Each country I visit as I go around the world has different rules regarding how long a pet has to stay in isolation before he can join the owner. My trailer is tiny and there is no place for the accoutrements of a pet. (Cage? Litterbox? Dishes? Leashes?)

Prague across the Vltava River. 5/17/2016.

Then there is the problem of disruption. I have been in many campgrounds where pet owners have bragged about how well-behaved and quiet their dogs are and what a pleasure it is to travel with them. Their words have been made into lies as soon as they leave the pet in the trailer to drive someplace it can’t go. I’ve have listened to dogs wail and cry and howl all day long when their owners are absent.

Not fair to the pet and not fair to the traveler. Having a pet puts a restraint on where you can go and how long you can be gone. Even how much you can afford. Pets are costly.

Statue of Juliet (Romeo and Juliet) with her good luck breast rubbed shiny. Over stimulated, I think.  Munich, 5/21/2016.

“But don’t you get lonely?” I’m asked.

Hell, yes! I spend about 90-95% of my time alone and usually lonely. I miss touch and love and the cuddles that pets give without ever asking for more in return than that you care for them.
And that’s the real problem with pets.

Schloss Neuschwanstein in Bavaria. One of the most romantic views on earth. This is the castle that Disney artists modeled the Disneyland castle after. Hohenschwangau, Bavaria, 5/22/2016.

I read blogposts, email, and Facebook posts that either personally or conglomerately talk about the importance of their pets. “My pet is a member of my family.” “My pet lives here. You don’t.” “I love my Pug, Pom, Pyrenees, Persian, whatever.” “Happiness is a kitten.” “There is no loyalty like a dog’s.”

I appreciate the sentiment. Pets quickly become as important to their owners as the people in their lives. And often more so. Pets actually become a substitute for people. We will cuddle and pet and groom and feed our pets when we won’t do the same for our spouse or children. Because they don’t demand anything else from us, it is much easier to have a relationship with a pet than with a human. We can complain about anything. They listen. We can push them away. They wait. We can reach out a hand. They are there to be petted.
It is easier to love a dog than a person.

Great-great-...-grandsire Everett. (Everett="Boar Heart"). Now that would be a pet... Munich 2/21/2016.

When our first greyhound died back in 2009, my daughter’s coach talked to her gently. “Parents give us pets so we can learn how to deal with the loss of a loved one.” It was a beautiful sentiment. Our dog was a loved one and we dealt with the loss. But a step from that to being the focus of our love to the exclusion of our loved ones is entirely too easy to make. If I had a dog, I wouldn’t need a person. It is so much tidier than dealing with the emotions and needs of someone who might not always feel the same. Who won’t jump into your lap simply because you sat down. Who won’t sit for hours while you stroke its fur. Who won’t always be standing at the door waiting to go with you wherever you are going. Who doesn’t show joy whenever you walk into the room. Who will always put your needs first.

If I give that kind of affection and care, it will be to a human being who returns it. That’s the problem with pets.

Ja, David. Sie hat einen 'innie'. Lowenbrau Biergarten, Munich, 5/21/2016.