I don't mind cleaning up. Cleanliness is a good thing in our lives. What I DO mind is insensitivity.
Even when my family did have dogs, when I was growing up, they remained outdoors, and free to be themselves in their own houses. There was no dog in the bed, dog bowl in the kitchen, feeding from the dinner table, laughter about toilet water consumption, hair shedding all over the furniture, paw prints on the carpets, scratches on the doors, eaten slippers, chewed homework, bites, or "presents".
Perhaps some people may think my childhood was deprived of all of those fun things. The one time it snowed so badly that the dog WAS allowed in the basement, it seemed that his scent lingered for days and permeated every non-porous object.
Our pets were allowed to retain their proud animal status. They were never referred to as "children" or sisters and brothers. They were fed and cared for very well, but had a place, and it wasn't in the house, but among nature where the Good Lord provided them with all the protective gear and instincts they needed to survive. "That's why the Lord gave them fur", my Dad would explain.
Who knows? Maybe that's why, when someone tried to break into the house where I grew up, our dog never barked. She'd only been inside the house once. Maybe she hadn't seen anything worth protecting, thought we could handle predators of our own species without her help, or had an attitude because she had only been inside once...
I know how beloved people's pets are to them. They're serious. I don't always understand it, but I respect it. I know how they try to convince others that their pet is the best, cleanest, most well-adjusted, intelligent little creature ever, and has no memory of ever being a wild animal. I just don't know how clean one can get a dog or cat to be, or remain.
By all means, do you. This is America, of course, where animals are often treated with more care and affection than people. Here in the good ol' USA, animals have rights to infiltrate spaces where some people would rather they not be welcome (i.e restaurants, airplanes, shopping malls, hotels, parks, beaches, churches, neighborhoods, Earth)
Please. Do you, where animals are concerned. This is just me and my no-pet-having self's rant, birthed out of my frustration and general concern about parasites, bacteria and lung damage. Yeah, yeah. I know. Some pets are cleaner than people. I've heard that. I'm not so convinced of it, but I've heard it. I guess 'love of pet' causes many to excuse a lot of things, accept and overlook, and become oblivious to others, but today's random question is:
Do cat owners just get USED to the shockingly foul, something-died-and-is-rotting-apocalyptic-lung destroying-satanic smell that is USED KITTY LITTER?
Oh my goodness, gracious! Lord have mercy! HOW, in the name of all that is reasonable, can one NOT be knocked unconscious by their pet's litter box presents? What kind of hazmat situation is going on behind the closed doors of a cat owner's home? I don't think the Pentagon has considered 'used kitty litter' as a possible weapon of mass destruction. Perhaps the joint chiefs should. Just who do you call to report an assault on the atmosphere like used kitty litter? Your senator, or congressman? Homeland Security? Ghost Busters?
Please. If you have a cat(s) and live anywhere near other people, (i.e. apartment, condominium, neighborhood, Earth) although you may have become immune to the smell of your cat's used litter, or think it is tantamount to the finest French perfume, consider the health of your neighbors. Consider the pregnant and unborn among you. Consider the benefits of fresh air. Just be considerate, PERIOD, and dispose of it properly in bags--GOOD contractor clean-up bags--tied up securely, doubled, dipped in Clorox, sprayed with Lysol, and prayed over by the Pope.
Yes. You have a right to own a pet. You and your beloved pet have a right to be as nasty as you want to be in the privacy of your own home. But when your rights, to generate and tolerate the very stench of death, begin to infringe upon the rights of others, and force them to practice how long they can hold their breath, that's just plain abuse.
Okay.
Rant over.
Thanks.
Gotta find a mask.
*sigh*
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