Hey everyone,
I was watching random YouTube videos last night and somehow came across a woman who is obsessed with animals--and in particular, rats. The video showed her cuddling with several of her 19 rats, and her teenage son (her only child) described his mother's rats as, "my brothers and sisters."
What really caught my attention though, was when it was mentioned that the woman and her husband were currently separated, living in different residences, and while the husband very much wanted to reconcile, the woman told him (on camera), that the rats would always come before him (because unlike him, her rats love her unconditionally and don't judge her) and that he would have to accept that if they were ever going to get back together.
This reminded me of a guy I had been communicating with several years ago on a Christian dating site. He had a beloved dog whom he doted on and asked me if I thought that would be a problem. At the time, I wrote that I thought it was perfectly understandable to be understanding of a pet who had been in a person's life long before another person.
In his emails, this person would write me very detailed messages about his dog's personal schedule, emotions, and temperament, such as, "Today was our pedicure and grooming appointment, and it was a very rough day... 'Rosie' (for the sake of privacy, I won't use the dog's real name
) was very upset about it for several hours," (even though the dog apparently had these appointments regularly--I forget what it was about this particular day that upset her more than usual.) I would certainly be understandings of someone loving their pet. But, if it was a situation in which we were trying to have a relationship and he clearly cared more about his pet than about my feelings (within reason), I would probably feel as if there wasn't enough room for me in the relationship and would bow out.
Although I never wound up meeting this guy (we set up a tentative meeting but he never got back to me to confirm it; something like 7 months later he wrote me out of the blue and told me he was engaged--presumably not to his dog), it definitely got me thinking.
I am all for the love and companionship people find from having pets. But, is there possibly a point of going too far? Here are some questions I'm hoping you all might be interested in answering:
1. Have you ever been made to feel less important to someone than their pet, or animals in general? How did you react or cope?
2. If you have a beloved animal in your life, will it be a hard adjustment to include another person into your routine?
3. If you had to choose, would you choose your pet over a person? And, if you are the person who adjusting to someone with a pet, how understanding/flexible should you have to be? For example, would you take allergy medicines, if necessary?
4. Is there, or should there be a line? God certainly wants us to treat animals with dignity and compassion, but what would He say when we love animals more than people? (Are there specific Scriptures that address this? I would definitely be interested if anyone has any to share.)
Looking forward to your thoughts! =^.^= (<-- Not sure if I remember how make an emoticon of a cat, but hey, at least I tried...)
I was watching random YouTube videos last night and somehow came across a woman who is obsessed with animals--and in particular, rats. The video showed her cuddling with several of her 19 rats, and her teenage son (her only child) described his mother's rats as, "my brothers and sisters."
What really caught my attention though, was when it was mentioned that the woman and her husband were currently separated, living in different residences, and while the husband very much wanted to reconcile, the woman told him (on camera), that the rats would always come before him (because unlike him, her rats love her unconditionally and don't judge her) and that he would have to accept that if they were ever going to get back together.
This reminded me of a guy I had been communicating with several years ago on a Christian dating site. He had a beloved dog whom he doted on and asked me if I thought that would be a problem. At the time, I wrote that I thought it was perfectly understandable to be understanding of a pet who had been in a person's life long before another person.
In his emails, this person would write me very detailed messages about his dog's personal schedule, emotions, and temperament, such as, "Today was our pedicure and grooming appointment, and it was a very rough day... 'Rosie' (for the sake of privacy, I won't use the dog's real name
) was very upset about it for several hours," (even though the dog apparently had these appointments regularly--I forget what it was about this particular day that upset her more than usual.) I would certainly be understandings of someone loving their pet. But, if it was a situation in which we were trying to have a relationship and he clearly cared more about his pet than about my feelings (within reason), I would probably feel as if there wasn't enough room for me in the relationship and would bow out. Although I never wound up meeting this guy (we set up a tentative meeting but he never got back to me to confirm it; something like 7 months later he wrote me out of the blue and told me he was engaged--presumably not to his dog), it definitely got me thinking.
I am all for the love and companionship people find from having pets. But, is there possibly a point of going too far? Here are some questions I'm hoping you all might be interested in answering:
1. Have you ever been made to feel less important to someone than their pet, or animals in general? How did you react or cope?
2. If you have a beloved animal in your life, will it be a hard adjustment to include another person into your routine?
3. If you had to choose, would you choose your pet over a person? And, if you are the person who adjusting to someone with a pet, how understanding/flexible should you have to be? For example, would you take allergy medicines, if necessary?
4. Is there, or should there be a line? God certainly wants us to treat animals with dignity and compassion, but what would He say when we love animals more than people? (Are there specific Scriptures that address this? I would definitely be interested if anyone has any to share.)
Looking forward to your thoughts! =^.^= (<-- Not sure if I remember how make an emoticon of a cat
, but hey, at least I tried...)
(*see 'Man of the Hour ' by Norah Jones for a pop culture reference to this affect)
How I reacted? We can be friends, but why would I date you if my value was less than an animal (which...I believe humans are not animals, and while we should respect them, are 'above' animals... In the same way angels are above humans...but still treat us respectfully.)
So I shook my head, and thought to myself that these people probably had a psychological issue of some kind...most likely due to hurts in the past. Could be a nurtured thing, too.. Hm...
2. No. Then again, I've never centered my life around my pets. Much like a friend, my pets and I would hang out sometimes and have fun, then go our seperate ways.
3. Never! Humans first. Are you serious? I think reasonable accomidation is a subjective thing, so that question is difficult to accurately answer in an unbiased manner. I would take allergy meds, though, sure.
4. Right?! I think you could accurately imply my answer.
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