America’s Pet Obsession

There’s no question that pets play a very valuable role in our lives. They benefit our psychological well being by providing unconditional love, warmth, comfort and amusement. A good cuddle with your favorite furry friend can turn a bad day into a good one. They can also be good for your physical health! One study on nih.gov demonstrates that those with cardiovascular disease who have pets tend to outlive people with cardiovascular disease that do not have pets.

Pets are regarded as another member of the family by most people. Given all they give to us, it is not wrong for us to want to do things for them. However, some people seem to have lost their perspective on how much is too much especially when you consider that one billion people in the world live in poverty.

Besides doggie day care, some dog owners take their dog’s to a variety of classes ranging from swimming lessons to agility classes to sheep-herding courses. Novice dog swim classes offer not only lessons on how to swim, but also “dock diving” where owners and instructors test to see which dogs can jump the farthest out from the pool ledge by having the dogs chase a rubber toy. They also compete in events such as the “lure course” which includes dogs chasing after plastic bags operated on battery pulleys. Owners campout all day to watch their precious pooches compete in these classes, even if it is to watch their dogs chase a plastic bag around the grass.

But it doesn’t stop there. Many owners feel like they need to participate in an outrageous activity with them. For that, there are some classes that offer “canine freestyle” where owners learn how to dance with their dogs. Owners will drive up to 150 miles to get their pets to destinations like these.

Websites dedicated to pampered pets and those who pamper them offer an array of products such as a $240 Soho modern dog bed at callingalldogs.com, a $225 “Bowlingual” dog translator and a $2,000 MP3 player for your dog at itworld.org. Love Dog Diamonds offers a Cherie 2.7 carat, heart-shaped diamond dog collar for only $498.

But obsession does not stop at mere accessories. According to a recent article in the San Jose Mercury News, a couple in Temecula spent $20,000 on an 11-foot-tall Victorian dog house to match their own. There is in fact a company in Denver called La Petite Maison that builds over- the-top dog houses for people with too much time and money on their hands. This goes beyond sick. Let’s consider what can be done for $20,000 to help human beings in need.

• According to Project Mosquito Net, one mosquito net costs five dollars. So for $20,000 you could buy 4,000 mosquito nets and help prevent some of the one million malaria related fatalities that occur in Africa each year.
• According to the Northwest Coalition for AIDS Treatment in Africa (NCATA), it costs about $350 to treat someone in Africa with AIDS. For $20,000 you can buy enough treatment for about 57 people in Africa. This would help reduce some of the three million deaths each year due to AIDS.
• At Water.org, this amount of money would provide 800 people access to clean water for life.
• In the town of La Victoire, Haiti, $20,000 would contribute one third of the cost of building a new energy efficient school.

Wouldn’t placing your money with one of these organizations be more satisfying and better yet, a more responsible way to spend your money? Do some people really have so little regard for the value of human life?

How did we get like this?

Granted, everyone has the right to make their own choices but for whom are they really building the $20,000 dog house, their pet or themselves? Is a dog really happier in a $20,000 house than in a standard dog house or better yet, at the foot of your bed at night? Its needs are really very basic. It’s simple. Feed them, clean them, give them love and play with them and they will love you unconditionally.

You can make a life and death decision to help a human being or buy a mansion for your dog. So what’s it going to be? The choice is yours.