But having said that, I will also say, " boy 'o' boy, anthropomorphism (treating animals like another of us humans) runs rampant with pet owners." And I'm as guilty as ever, I talk baby talk with my Bentley as I've done with all the 'fur-faces' before him, and as I'll do with loved-ones after him. "For dadies sake, hims wonersal dooderboy poodle too," and he's not a poodle, he's a cross between a Lab and Chow.
Here he is catching a mouser, I mean mouse ......what is that? Why do I treat them like a baby? Is this digression endemic to pet owners, or is it digression at all? Have we lost our connection with nature and thus try to make them more like us? Are we a 'Freudian-field-trip? I mean, what would possess, I ask you, a human to take the time and spend the money to dress-up a squirrel like an army man?
We don't stop there, not only do we feed them what we eat, and now they have our diseases as well, we have animal boutiques to keep our pet in the latest fashions, we have kennels that are more like hotels and special cemeteries where one can spend thousands of dollars on a crypt, or cremation. There are hundreds of books and movies where their are talking animals, and in most cases these animals are portrayed as being smarter than the human. Look at the Disney enterprise; they were the first at make heaping profits on the notion of animals communicating with us. Now, not only are our children inundated with the idea, dolls and other un-living things can talk to us as well, oh my.
Look what we do to our pets !
Psychologist Adam Waytz of Harvard University may have the answer, or an answer to why we attribute human traits to animals and objects. Waytz found a variety of explanations for the all-too-common behavior. Not surprisingly, loneliness can drive anthropomorphism. He says that people who were lonesome were more likely to describe their pets as having human qualities like thoughtfulness. But it isn't only the loneliness as to why people treat their pets like kids, Waytz says, humans may have a natural tendency to anthropomorphize objects and animals because it helps them make more sense of the world around them. When treating pets like people, however, a mis-communication often occurs that can lead to confusion and behavior problems with the pet. And, as for dressing our pets up like little dolls? Waytz warns of another potential drawback. "Anthropomorphizing pets may seem like a nice thing to do, but it may have some ironic downsides for the pet," he says.
Fer dadies sake people, their still animals; Animals are still Animals.
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Now the pets are talking...right!
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