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Owning a Pet Is Good for Well-Being

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Re: Owning a Pet Is Good for Well-Being

#21

Post by owlninja »

papln wrote: post #10
lotsofpulp wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's ridiculous how many people have "service" animals nowadays. I don't care for the smell of animals, nor can I vet the training abilities of all animal owners, so I'd rather not deal with them at all. Somehow everyone has an emotional problem nowadays that requires a pet to be with them at all times.

This is clearly false hyperbole.

I'll agree OP was hyperbolic, but there certainly is a marked increase. The worst part is all these companies selling emotional support animal certificates or registries, despite the fact they are usually meaningless.

Re: Owning a Pet Is Good for Well-Being

#22

Post by AdamJacobMuller »

Liquix wrote: post #15
makerofspoons wrote: post #6

I'm not sure we should be encouraging people to own more dogs and cats- they have a substantial carbon footprint for being extravagances: https://www.salon.com/2014/11/20/the_surprisingly_large_carb...

Something you classify as an 'extravagance' could be classified by others as 'best friend', 'most uplifting part of the day', revered by the egyptians' 'my only reason for getting out of bed when faced with crippling depression', etc. Amusement parks, restaurants, and the manufacture of your latest high-tech gadget also generate carbon footprints. One could argue that none of those things are strictly necessary for s…

Beyond what you're saying (which is quite true), if you're rescuing dogs, as I mostly do, the only way you can say there is a net increase in carbon is because I'm providing a better quality of life for my dogs (which undoubtably increases carbon emissions) and causing my dog to live longer than it would if it was wild or killed in a shelter.

I don't particularly see "reduce carbon impact by killing dogs/animals" as being a winning slogan.

Re: Owning a Pet Is Good for Well-Being

#23

Post by makerofspoons »

Liquix wrote: post #15
makerofspoons wrote: post #6

I'm not sure we should be encouraging people to own more dogs and cats- they have a substantial carbon footprint for being extravagances: https://www.salon.com/2014/11/20/the_surprisingly_large_carb...

Something you classify as an 'extravagance' could be classified by others as 'best friend', 'most uplifting part of the day', revered by the egyptians' 'my only reason for getting out of bed when faced with crippling depression', etc. Amusement parks, restaurants, and the manufacture of your latest high-tech gadget also generate carbon footprints. One could argue that none of those things are strictly necessary for s…

I wonder if the same feelings people have for pets could be instead replaced with volunteering in one's community, making human best friends and giving oneself purpose.

I'm not in disagreement with you on that last part- extravagances like amusement parks, gadgets, and restaurants should be appropriately taxed until the resources they consume come down to sustainable levels. Everything needs to be scaled back.

Re: Owning a Pet Is Good for Well-Being

#24

Post by Karawebnetwork »

Ididntdothis wrote: post #2

For a while I worked at a place where they allowed dogs in the office. It’s probably not for everyone it but I personally felt this have the workplace a very nice touch and made it much more humane.

I hate to be a party pooper, but make sure that if you bring animals to the office they are hypoallergenic.

For cats, you want to look for breeds that produce less Fel D1 protein. There is probably something similar for dogs.

One office I once interviewed at had the CEO's dog roaming around and I had to decline the job offer for this reason. I'm sure that I could have talked about it but nobody wants to be the one who kicks the office dog out.

Re: Owning a Pet Is Good for Well-Being

#25

Post by downandout »

charliesharding wrote: post #12

Would it follow that having kids is good for our well-being too? Sometimes I wonder if the decline of the family/people choosing not to have kids is linked with increasing rates of mental health problems

Merely “having kids” is probably a little broad of a statement. There is little question that having a loving family, spouse, etc. at home while being financially and emotionally stable is going to head off some mental health problems, or at least manifestations of them. But someone that is financially and/or emotionally unstable, doesn’t have anyone to help with the kids but who must work, etc., will find that children dramatically increase their stress levels, which will exacerbate any existing mental health issues.

Re: Owning a Pet Is Good for Well-Being

#26

Post by tombert »

Ididntdothis wrote: post #2

For a while I worked at a place where they allowed dogs in the office. It’s probably not for everyone it but I personally felt this have the workplace a very nice touch and made it much more humane.

We tried that for awhile at a previous job. It was fun at first, but there were two problems:

1) Dogs like to poop. A lot. Even with a responsible owner, if the dog runs around the office frequently, they would poop, and someone would step in it, and that is gross.

2) Dogs like to bark. Most dogs are fine, but occasionally there would be one that wouldn't shut up and get them all started.

After a few months, they got rid of the policy.

Re: Owning a Pet Is Good for Well-Being

#27

Post by charliesharding »

dawhizkid wrote: post #19
charliesharding wrote: post #12

Would it follow that having kids is good for our well-being too? Sometimes I wonder if the decline of the family/people choosing not to have kids is linked with increasing rates of mental health problems

I'm one of those people who has decided to purposefully not have kids because I do not believe they will have a better life than me due to climate change. I suspect there's an increasing number of people who think that way.

One could argue that you're worsening the lot of the world by not having kids that you impress the importance of addressing climate change upon. Your children could help to radiate that message outwards and may even become scientists that help to reverse it! Of course there's no guarantee that they'll adopt your views but if you fundamentally believe the world is capable of saving then it's worth a shot :)

Re: Owning a Pet Is Good for Well-Being

#28

Post by dawhizkid »

charliesharding wrote: post #27
dawhizkid wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm one of those people who has decided to purposefully not have kids because I do not believe they will have a better life than me due to climate change. I suspect there's an increasing number of people who think that way.

One could argue that you're worsening the lot of the world by not having kids that you impress the importance of addressing climate change upon. Your children could help to radiate that message outwards and may even become scientists that help to reverse it! Of course there's no guarantee that they'll adopt your views but if you fundamentally believe the world is capable of saving then it's worth a shot :)

Yes, though if I were to have kids I would adopt, then, and not create one.

Re: Owning a Pet Is Good for Well-Being

#29

Post by downandout »

dawhizkid wrote: post #19
charliesharding wrote: post #12

Would it follow that having kids is good for our well-being too? Sometimes I wonder if the decline of the family/people choosing not to have kids is linked with increasing rates of mental health problems

I'm one of those people who has decided to purposefully not have kids because I do not believe they will have a better life than me due to climate change. I suspect there's an increasing number of people who think that way.

I suspect there's an increasing number of people who think that way.

That is an extreme viewpoint. The number of people thinking this way may in fact be “increasing” because of the social media echo chambers that make almost any extreme viewpoint seem normal to those who have them. But I seriously doubt the number of people that actually refuse to have children based upon fear of climate change is high enough to make any waves in population numbers.

Re: Owning a Pet Is Good for Well-Being

#30

Post by bberrry »

charliesharding wrote: post #12

Would it follow that having kids is good for our well-being too? Sometimes I wonder if the decline of the family/people choosing not to have kids is linked with increasing rates of mental health problems

It's likely quite individual but personally I feel like I am less satisfied with life now that I have young children due to them dominating the agenda and life in general. I am however expecting kids to "pay off" in the happiness department in old age. I would imagine having no family at that stage in life would be quite bleak.
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