It's time we had a Pet Parents' Bill of Rights...

[asdf2231]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4758710

StopThePendulum  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jan-03-09 11:44 AM
Original message
It's time we had a Pet Parents' Bill of Rights
 Advertisements [?]Animal laws are antiquated, in that they never caught up with the American culture concerning common household pets. Animals are legally regarded as mere property, not as the sentient beings they are. The laws need to catch up with this reality, and this include animal cruelty--people get off too easy with torturing and maliciously killing animals. I believe it's high time for Congress to push a Pet Parent's Bill of Rights, covering everything from encouraging adoption from shelters by giving each pet adopted from a shelter a pet tax ID for the purpose of tax breaks, banning housing discrimination against pet parents, to requiring employers to allow pet sick days to let people take their sick pets to a vet for treatment, to toughening animal cruelty laws nationwide.

I propose the idea that animals should be legally regarded not as mere property, not as humans, but in a legal class by themselves between inanimate property and persons. This should hold true especially for common household pets, e.g., cats, dogs, domesticated species of birds, guinea pigs, domesticated rabbits, etc. Pets should be protected from "murder" by punishing offenders a maximum of 20-35 years in prison; from intentional torture and/or petnapping by imposing a maximum sentence less than that of kidnapping, but more than that of mere theft of inanimate objects. This proposed protection would reflect the nature of pets not as property, but as the family members they're treated like at home.

Wild animals, especially endangered species, have more protection than household pets, yet culturally, we regard pets in more esteem than their wild cousins. Wild animals' habitats are better protected by law than the domestic animals with whom we share our homes; for instance, landlords and condo building owners can still legally discriminate against pet guardians either by charging higher rental rates to pet parents than household without cats or dogs; by imposing a high, non-refundable pet fee, ostensibly to cover property damage caused by pets, but in reality, these pet surcharges serve to discourage tenants and/or condo owners from keeping a cat and/or dog. Some landlords or homeowners' assocations even ban pets outright and evict tenants and/or condo owners, forcing the latter either to give up their animals or sell their condos. This discrimination forces human beings to choose between a roof over their heads and their beloved furkids. This injustice must be banned once and for all. Landlords and condo building owners should bear the burden of proof that the pet is antisocial and/or destructive; in other words, a pet should be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Any human found guilty of keeping a pet who is proven to be unsocialized, aggressive, destructive, or any and all of the aforementioned should be required to give up the offending animal at his or her own expense. We should put an end to punishing innocent, responsible pet parents along with the guilty, irresponsible sociopaths who use animals as mere objects to be used and abused at will.
Exemptions from complying with the pet anti-discrimination law would be: homeowner is not allowed to keep a pet due to an injunction by a court of law and a tenant is bringing in a pet; if the presence of a pet creates an undue health hardship to the homeowner. Example: the homeowner wants to rent a room yet is severely allergic to cats. The prospective tenant has a cat and wants to move in with the kitty. In this case, the homeowner can tell the tenant he or she has to give up the cat because Boots would make him or her too sick to function.

I think we should be afforded a break on our income taxes if we adopted a cat or dog from a shelter. Each adopted pet would be assigned a tax ID number similar to a Social Security number, only the first character would be an F (feline) for an adopted cat or a C (canine) for an adopted dog. There would be a pet dependent allowance of $500 for each cat and $500-750 for each dog, depending on the size of the dog upon adulthood. For instance, Kitty's Tax ID would look like this: Fxx-xx-xxxx, and Doggie's would be Cxx-xx-xxxx. This number would be used solely for income tax purposes, and can be transferable for a $5.00 fee to a new guardian either upon the death of the human. If the human caregiver can no longer care for the adopted animal due to incarceration or some other reason the people can no longer keep the animal, the pet transfer fee would increase to $20.00. If the animal is brought back to the shelter, or to another shelter, the transfer fee would go up to $50.00.

Rhiannon12866  (1000+ posts)        Sun Jan-04-09 02:06 AM
Response to Original message
54. You've got my vote!!! K&R.
 I take rescue pets and each of my guys has come with a very sad story. Animal protection laws need to be stricter in all 50 states!

 

Bryn  (1000+ posts)      Sat Jan-03-09 07:50 PM
Response to Original message
52. Ignore posters who laugh at your suggestion
 Those who are not animal lovers aren't like us who love our animals like members of a family. I just don't care for eating meat, but I don't make fun who do. DU posters need to see that we all are different like deaf, hearing, hetro, gay, etc. My life would be AWFULLY boring if I see humans only and no animals. No birds flying in sky, no animal companions, no majestic animals...life would be boring! Barf I have two dogs and 4 cats. I really really enjoy their company, taking care of them.

Anyway, I do get tax break for having a service dog. Feeding, training, vet visits, supplies, etc. for pets are very expensive. I support for all who have beloved pets to have a tax break not just the handicapped people who have assistance dogs/animals who do get tax breaks anyway. 

Withywindle (1000+ posts)      Sat Jan-03-09 04:36 PM
Response to Original message
36. I agree with a lot of this, not so sure about others.
 I don't think we can enforce housing for pets and their people as a "discrimination" law - however, I would be all in favor of tax breaks that encourage landlords to allow pets.  We should also look into why it's easier to find pet-friendly housing in some places than others, and what the economic factors are. I've never had much trouble finding pet-friendly apartments in Chicago, for example;.

I absolutely think it's outrageous that pets are valued only as inanimate objects when it comes to petnapping, deliberate killing, etcetera. I think the penalty should be lower than for kidnapping or killing a human, but definitely higher than for stealing a car or fine jewelry or robbing a bank or stealing any other object that can't feel pain and fear.

snot  (1000+ posts)      Sun Jan-04-09 02:14 AM
Response to Original message
55. We are human chauvinists.
 It's absurd to accord a human foetus with the I.Q. of a carrot more protection than all other animals, many of whom have real feelings and some of whom can actually learn to talk to us, albeit in sign language or the like.

A rational discussion about these things is long overdue.

[Atomic Lib Smasher]

snot  (1000+ posts)      Sun Jan-04-09 02:14 AM
Response to Original message
55. We are human chauvinists.
 It's absurd to accord a human foetus with the I.Q. of a carrot more protection than all other animals, many of whom have real feelings and some of whom can actually learn to talk to us, albeit in sign language or the like.

A rational discussion about these things is long overdue.

Nothing really needs to be said about that post from the snotwad primitive that is already said there. 

[LC EFA]

While I can't abide animal cruelty, there are limits to what I consider cruel.

For example, I have no issue with fur clothing , hunting for pest control , sport or food etc. I don't see that the animals should be placed before humans in any case whatsoever.

Comparing an unborn human to an animal , and implying that the human deserves less protection is just abhorrent.
 

[franksolich]

I dunno.

From my observation of the way primitives treat their own pets, I think we'd go a long way in getting rid of animal cruelty simply by prohibiting primitives from having pets.

[TheSarge]

They must have missed that part in Genesis about man having control over all the animals.

They aren't "equal to us"...nor do they have the same "rights" as us.

They're pets people...get an effin clue.

[Carl]

snot  (1000+ posts)      Sun Jan-04-09 02:14 AM
Response to Original message
55. We are human chauvinists.
 It's absurd to accord a human foetus with the I.Q. of a carrot more protection than all other animals, many of whom have real feelings and some of whom can actually learn to talk to us, albeit in sign language or the like.

A rational discussion about these things is long overdue.

Words fail me.

I should still wish that God has some level of mercy on your soul.....but I cannot.

[Rebel]

I'm all for protecting pets, but the federal government mandating it?

F You, DUmmies.

[PatriotGame]

http://www.democraticunde...l&address=389x4758710

StopThePendulum  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jan-03-09 11:44 AM
Original message
It's time we had a Pet Parents' Bill of Rights
Animal laws are antiquated, in that they never caught up with the American culture concerning common household pets. Animals are legally regarded as mere property, not as the sentient beings they are.

Sentient beings?
Good gawd! If you can get any one of my 11 cats to clean up their own puke or litter when they happily throw it five feet out of their litter box after taking a crap, I will give your
post-O-stupidity some creed.
Additionally, if just one of the rascals would get a job to help offset the $250.00 for food and $160 for litter I spend each month, I would create another mole account at the DUmp to back you up.
Pets and worms are not Sentient beings but then again, neither are DUmmys.

[Toastedturningtidelegs]

StopThePendulum  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jan-03-09 11:44 AM
Original message
It's time we had a Pet Parents' Bill of Rights
 Advertisements [?]Animal laws are antiquated, in that they never caught up with the American culture concerning common household pets. Animals are legally regarded as mere property, not as the sentient beings they are. The laws need to catch up with this reality, and this include animal cruelty--people get off too easy with torturing and maliciously killing animals. I believe it's high time for Congress to push a Pet Parent's Bill of Rights, covering everything from encouraging adoption from shelters by giving each pet adopted from a shelter a pet tax ID for the purpose of tax breaks, banning housing discrimination against pet parents, to requiring employers to allow pet sick days to let people take their sick pets to a vet for treatment, to toughening animal cruelty laws nationwide.

So will I have to put my black lab "George through college now? Nothin doin until he gets off his lazy ass and starts helping out around the house

[PatriotGame]

So will I have to put my black lab "George through college now? Nothin doin until he gets off his lazy ass and starts helping out around the house

Check me if I am wrong but I have a feeling that George is far more industrious and productive than *ANY* DUmmy. 

[Toastedturningtidelegs]

Check me if I am wrong but I have a feeling that George is far more industrious and productive than *ANY* DUmmy. 

Well he's pretty good at "watering and fertilizing my lawn" Gotta  work with him on the lawnmowing though...can't seem to keep his paws duct taped to the mower for any length of time!

[delilahmused]

What do we do when one nonhuman sentient being is responsible for another nonhuman sentient being? My Heelers herd my goats from pasture to pasture, chase them from places they're not supposed to be, etc. Generally that involves some nipping on the heels and chasing those who bolt from the herd. Would my dogs be exempt from abuse legislation? Will there be varying degrees of nipping that are not allowed? Maximum herding speeds? Who gets to decide...the same city folks whose expertise regarding endangered forest species is based on Saturday morning hikes and thus feel qualified to set policy? Because these are the same people who come to my farm to buy eggs and they don't have a clue. And what about my chickens, some are pets but most are livestock so will there be different rights for each group? Now that my pets have a bill of rights should they have to take some responsibility for their behavior? What if my sentient cat bites the head off the endangered spotted field vole even though it has perfectly good premium cat food in it's little dish? What if they just kill an ordinary mouse? I mean one person's pet is another person's vermin. My cats like to play with their toys until somebody dies which is really rather sadistic. Considering the cost of grain in this lousy Bush economy, a few less mice means more feed for the sentient beings who depend on me for their food. What about my goldfish? Bert and Muffin do a good job of keeping the algae down but I doubt they have any more intelligence than a fetus so are they exempt from protection? I mean the little pond on my porch with the pretty little fountain is kind of like a womb. I don't know, I just don't think we average pet owners are capable of keeping track of all this? Then again, I guess this kind of thing would require a whole new government bureacracy so it could be included in Obama's jobs program.

Cindie

[Traveshamockery]

It's absurd to accord a human foetus with the I.Q. of a carrot more protection than all other animals, many of whom have real feelings and some of whom can actually learn to talk to us, albeit in sign language or the like.

My cat Lucy is very close to having the sign language thing down but I've been working with her for a long time.  She can't quite get the "hang ten" thing down because she doesn't have any thumbs.  



But seriously, I love my cats but they are not equal to humans.  I've had to put three cats down in the last several years and for the reason that they do not understand the concept of illness and treatment.  I know some people probably don't agree with me, but as soon as I learned my favorite boy kitty Grady had lymphoma, I put him down.  He was miserable and I didn't see the point in keeping him alive.  

We don't put humans to sleep as soon as they are diagnosed with cancer or some other disease.  Just in that regard, animals are not equal to humans.

[debk]

have to admit....it would be nice to deduct vet bills.....

[asdf2231]

have to admit....it would be nice to deduct vet bills.....

Sure... It starts with good intentions and before you know it people are laying around the house on their fat butts slurping down Big Gulps and churning out welfare Kittehs.

[asdf2231]

[PatriotGame]

Well he's pretty good at "watering and fertilizing my lawn" Gotta  work with him on the lawnmowing though...can't seem to keep his paws duct taped to the mower for any length of time!

Have you taught him "Do NOT shit THERE!" yet?
Try teaching that to a cat. I tried it once and all the cat did was projectile toss up a fur ball. 

[PatriotGame]

What do we do when one nonhuman sentient being is responsible for another nonhuman sentient being? My Heelers herd my goats from pasture to pasture, chase them from places they're not supposed to be, etc. Generally that involves some nipping on the heels and chasing those who bolt from the herd. Cindie

One thing you should also think about is that if the Heelers are essentially in charge of the goats, then the Heelers MUST provide the goats a "living wage" and health insurance. 
Something to think about if living in a DUmmy world.

[PatriotGame]

have to admit....it would be nice to deduct vet bills.....

Weeeell...if you adopted a DUmmy, then you could. 

[Zeus]

A group of country friends from the Cottonwood Baptist Church wanted to get together on a regular basis, socialize and play games. The lady of the house was to prepare the meal.

When it came time for Al and Janet to be the hosts, Janet wanted to outdo all the others. Janet decided to have mushroom-smothered steak. But mushrooms are expensive.

She then told her husband, 'No mushrooms. They are too high.' He said, 'Why don't you go down in the pasture and pick some of those mushrooms? There are plenty in the creek bed.' She said, 'No, some wild mushrooms are poison.' He said, 'Well, I see varmints eating them and they're OK.'

So Janet decided to give it a try. She picked a bunch, washed, sliced, diced them for her smothered steak. Then she went out on the back porch and gave Ol' Spot (the yard dog) a double handful. Ol' Spot ate every bite. All morning long, Janet watched Ol' Spot and the wild mushrooms didn't seem to affect him, so she decided to use them.

The meal was a great success, and Janet even hired a helper lady from town to help her serve. She had on a white apron and a fancy little cap on her head. After everyone had finished, they relaxed, socialized, and played 42 and dominoes.

About then, the helper lady from town came in and whispered in Janet's ear. She said, 'Mrs. Williams, Ol' Spot just died.'

Janet went into hysterics. After she finally calmed down, she called the doctor and told him what had happened.

The doctor said, 'That's bad, but I think we can take care of it. I will call for an ambulance and I will be there as quick as possible. We'll give everyone enemas and we will pump out everyone's stomach. Everything will be fine. Just keep them calm.'

Soon they could hear the siren as the ambulance was coming down the road. The EMTs and the doctor had their suitcases, syringes, and a stomach pump. One by one, they took each person into the bathroom, gave them an enema, and pumped out their stomach.

After the last one was finished, the doctor came out and said, 'I think everything will be fine now.' and he left.

They were all looking pretty weak sitting around the living room and about this time the helper lady came in and said, 'You know, that fellow who ran over Ol' Spot never even stopped.

[Eupher]

Seems to me they've got this back-asswards (but since when is THAT news in the DU world)?

Pet "Parents" need a "Bill of Responsibilities" rather than a "Bill of Rights".

Too many "parents" out there don't care for their animals in the first place.

[AllosaursRus]

Seems to me they've got this back-asswards (but since when is THAT news in the DU world)?

Pet "Parents" need a "Bill of Responsibilities" rather than a "Bill of Rights".

Too many "parents" out there don't care for their animals in the first place.

How 'bout we make it a capital offense to abandon a pet? How many unfortunate dogs and cats get left at our shelters? Many of them have been so neglected they have to be "put down"!

It's time to apply capital punishment to these asshats, most of which are moonbats from DUmmie Central, in order to stop this abuse of our "peers" the animals!

[DumbAss Tanker]

People who hurt animals out of sheer cruelty are scum.  However, in extreme circumstances I would have no moral misgivings at all about changing a pet's name from "Fluffy" to "Dinner."     

[Eupher]

People who hurt animals out of sheer cruelty are scum.  However, in extreme circumstances I would have no moral misgivings at all about changing a pet's name from "Fluffy" to "Dinner."     

Yeah, but does it taste like chicken?

[BlueStateSaint]

Kev, does she try the "Jedi Mind Trick" on you, like Oreo (our cat) does to me?