SEEMS I STRUCK A NERVE, OR PERHAPS SOME COMMENTS ARE SAFER LEFT UNSAID

I've had pets, and loved them, but calling any of them 'free' well, sorry thats a stretch… sorry 

OK, so it seems I'm on a bunch of pet owner's sh*t list...

There was a posting yesterday on Facebook... 
With the headline, I'm Free! and so I watched the video …

The video was heart warming. It made you smile, and yes, brought a tear to my eyes. Yeah! 

Well I tend to look at both sides of the story… I honestly believed OJ innocent… I know… hence I watch all political channels… I want to see it for myself… 

I've learned that perspective on an issue, is important. 

So beside my happiness for the animal being 'freed' I also realized, that the term "free" in regard to pet ownership is kind of an odd choice of words. Really, how is that free? This rescued animal is now the property of its new owner…  

So I decided to make a comment. 

I wasn't trying to attack or bitch, or anything... Anyway... here is what I wrote:

"its makes you feel good, except for the fact that the animal is on a leash, being told exactly what to do… its not free… he's now a pet… hopefully he'll have a good home… but saying FREE… sorry…" 

That was my whole point… just acknowledge that FREE shouldn't be used in the conversation in regards to pet ownership… that's it. It wasn't an attack against owning pets or having them, its just 'mentioning' that the term FREE… is simply inaccurate.  

Well I guess my comment wasn't taken in the way I expected it would be. Cause I'm now it seems a zealot and a PETA fan because of what I wrote. To put it nicely, pet owners weren't happy… basically trying to talk sense into me, about all their love and devotion. How their animals are now apart of their lives. Which is all true…  I mean how could I think anything about owning a pet could be bad… Well stupid me. 

Here is some of the conversation…

Someone wrote:  Oh please. He is with a loving family who will adore him, he'll have a house full of lovely warm beds and spots in the sun to snooze, he'll go for walks and play in the park, he'll be loved and fed and well taken care of. Are you suggesting he'd be better off trying to forage miserably for himself out in the rain and the snow somewhere?So I tried to respond in my usual way, by writing this: Oh please… of course I'm not… but calling it FREE is a joke… sorry, if you don't see that. What right do we have to own another species as a pet… just saying.

Someone else wrote this: How about "free from" the terror of being alone-maybe not eating-being afraid of being hurt.Perhaps that's a more fair way to put it.My response to that was:glad the animal is away from its man-made cage… hopefully its new "owners' will treat it well…  but its still ownership… sorry…

Then I got this: Neil, you are being specious. Those of us who live with animals see them as members of our family. We treat them with dignity and respect. We feed them, love them, play with them, cuddle them, pet them, make sure they are happy and warm and well fed. We take care of their needs. We share our homes with them. Most of us are also active in rescuing strays from disastrous situations where they would otherwise die. This exact post shows a pathetic animal held in a cage, due to be euthanized, then being thrilled to be rescued and taken home to a loving family. This dog would be horrified to then be let out in a forest to be "free." That would also be considered animal abuse. If you somehow think this story isn't happy, or that our companion animals aren't beloved and well cared for, you're taking a very strange position indeed. You are peculiarly taking some sort of contrarian position against looking out for other creatures' well-being and loving our fellow living creatures. Why not post on an animal abusers' page and speak out against that? Why on earth would you try to speak out against animal lovers? You're picking the wrong enemy if you really love animals.

So I wrote this: I'm not saying DONT OWN PETS and ALL OWNERS ARE NIGHTMARES… I'm simply saying, why do humans find it necessary to own other species. never understood seeing animals in cages, or them doing tricks or owning them. I've had pets most of my life and loved them as a part of my family… but always felt bad about it… thats how I feel… if you cant understand that… sorry… If the shoe was on the other foot and you were the pet… not so sure if you'd like that collar around your neck either… just saying…

Someone responded to me with this: I think, for a lot of us, it's more accurate to say our pets own us, and personally, I don't have a problem with being owned by my pets. smile emoticonI responded with this:Well that's easy to say when your the one holding the leash... Just saying

Then the original poster wrote this to me: It's a PETA position that Neil is espousing. They actually kill as many companion animals as they can get their hands on because they feel it is wrong to "own" animals, especially pets in your home. That's what this trolling is about. Nuff said.well I had to answer that one:I'm sorry I'm not trolling… I understand about the love of pets… I just have a hard time with the concept of people owning animals… I'm not attacking or saying don't own them… and I have had pets… the fact that this is considered odd what I wrote… maybe if I hadn't grown up watching films of humans treating other species as pets or worse… I wouldn't have an issue with property in regards to animals…How is that trolling… I wrote a comment… and somehow now I'm being attacked for just responding with the same answer over and over again… love your pets… as family… great for you…but come down on me because I see it it another way… I love animals and most of my friends have them… and love them and treat them as family members… still doesnt change my opinion… I'm not hating any of you… I am just saying how I feel… so continue to attack me, call me a troll… fine. unfriend if you think I'm being obnoxious… cause if I was… believe me… you would have blocked me already…Oh, and I'm not a member of Peta… just so you know…

There were some more attempt at shaming me, so I this was my last response: ONE MORE TIME… I have no problems with people having pets… or helping animals or however you want to describe it…MY WHOLE POINT WAS… People never look at it from the other side… thats it. I'm not protesting, I'm not bitching, or whining or anything...LOVE YOUR PETS But I'm sorry, watching people dragging their animals, scolding them like children… 'punishing' them cause they did what they naturally do… for example pooping on the carpet cause they needed a walk and their owner left them alone for a day… I could go on…AGAIN LOVE YOUR PETS… I feel like I'm being attacked by gun owners who can't understand how someone who has an issue with them 'owning' the weapon itself has a problem… and yes, I don't believe in gun ownership too…

Oy, you know, having too much time on your hands, can get you into really ridiculous Facebook wars…  now back to my work search… and my emails.

Just one man's opinion

© Neil Feigeles, Neilizms, Tues, March 4, 2016