How do JWs that you know (or knew) view animals?

by Chemical Emotions 9 Replies latest jw friends

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  Chemical Emotions

  All animals, but especially pets.

  Do they have rather low opinions of animals, veiwing them more as objects to be used and treated however one wishes- after all, god gave them to us for our pleasure, or as "jehovah's creatures" which must be cared for and loved?

  I've seen both veiws, some more extreme than others.

  I do think there's a tendency to treat animals less as living creatures that should be respected, and more as unfeeling things.

  I get a lot of phony *"don't you just LOVE Jehovah's beautiful creation?" kicks dog out of the way* kind of attitude.

  Just wondering what other people have seen. We talk a lot about how women, men, children, "worldies" are treated, and I think that's great. But lately I've been thinking about this aspect- pets, wild animals, animals in general.
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  Low-Key Lysmith

  My mom was one of those crazy animal collector people. At any given time, growing up, we had dogs, cats, ducks, rabbits, hedgehogs, rats, chinchillas, turtles, iguanas, etc. We didn't live on a farm, either. We lived in a developed suburb. My mother loved to aquire new animals, but didn't particularly like caring for them, so that duty fell to us kids. Every Saturday, after service, was spent picking up dog turds, cleaning cages and cat boxes, etc. The worst part was, as soon as we got attached to the animals, she would get bored with them and give them away to other families. It really sucked. In her final years, she decided that it would be a great idea to get 3 wolf-hybrid dogs. Not a good choice when you have nothing to do with them. Wolf-dogs are terrible pets. They are practically untrainable, extremely independant, and not overly friendly. What a disaster. Long after I moved out of the house, my mom came down with pancreatic cancer. When she died, my dad decided that he didn't want to care for the wolves anymore, so he took them out into the desert and shot them. he botched the job and they suffered a bit before he was finally able to kill them cleanly. He is still bothered by this to this day.

  I vowed to never, ever treat pets like my mom treated hers. I've had Ronin, my old dog, for 15 years, thru thick & thin. Our cat, Ripley, has been with us for 9 years, since she was a kitten, and Gus, our 3-year-old German Shepherd, isn't going anywhere. They are as much a part of the family as my wife & I. i guess you could say that my mom's poor behavior had a positive influence on me, though, so not all was lost.
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  Chemical Emotions

  Wow.
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  Low-Key Lysmith

  Yep. Pretty effed up.

  Here's the crew:

  

  Brothers from other mothers:

  

  The Mrs & Gus:

  

  Gus was Darth Vader for Halloween last year:

  

  As you can see, they're happy & healthy. I can't stand the abuse of animals.
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  carla

  Is he guarding the wine? good dog.
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  Morbidzbaby

  I've seen both within the org. There were people who really cared for their pets and took care of them and treated them like family. They were clean, groomed, well-fed, and well-loved.

  But then I've seen people who OWNED their animals and treated them horribly...hitting them, keeping dogs chained up outside, denying necessary health care like vaccines or preventative care for things like heart worm or other conditions the dog developed. The dogs were rarely bathed (if ever), watered and fed once a day, and just watched life go by. Sick. The scriptures say to care for your domestic animal...that doesn't mean only livestock or animals that will bring you money, in my opinion.

  I don't feel this is really a "JW" issue, though. I've known people who were not JW's who neglected their animals horribly and then I've known others who treated them with respect, dignity, and love.
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  Chemical Emotions

  I don't feel this is really a "JW" issue, though. I've known people who were not JW's who neglected their animals horribly and then I've known others who treated them with respect, dignity, and love.

  I agree. I do think that some JWs use some scriptures as excuses for abuse though. But then again, they'd probably be abusive anyway. withh or without the excuse.
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  Cacky

  I knew two mothers who would not let their kids have pets because of the time it would take to care for them. Their excuse was they'd be the one to care for them and they didn't have time. You can bet why they were so worried about their time, so much to do in the org. One family finally let their second son get a hamster. They talked about it as if it were this big deal. They'd tell about watching it run in its wheel. And the other one, her one son wanted a dog badly all his life, but he never got one. I think that's terrible to deny a kid a pet just because the parent says they don't have time because there is so little time with all the jw crap to keep up with. But I knew others who had them, some had lots. The org, I think, shows veiws against pets, I've seen articles talk about letting other things crowd out your time, including pets.
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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  Most of the dubs I knew treated their pets very well.

  And there were some dubs that believed that their deceased pets would be resurrected in the new order.
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  Balaamsass

  Most dubs I know love pets. (probably because the pets are the ONLY source of unconditional love in their life). They are MUCH happier to see you than any JWs at the hall.

  Pre-mid sixties many of the old timers from Judge Rutherford's time spoke poorly of pet owners. "Unclean animals, distractions, people made GODs of their pets" etc. They seemed mean and odd to me as a kid.