[ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: Furkids? PawParents?
- From: charangsd@xxxxxxx
- To: stormy435@xxxxxxxxx, showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2013 16:15:45 -0400 (EDT)
Jack help.............
Angie Martin
Charan GSD's
Home of 08 So. Pacific BIM Ch. Charan's Masquerade of Kimber
Co-owner/Breeder of Int'l Ch. & US Ch. Charan's Magic Spell of Sandroc
Kimber's Faith of Charan (pts) Dam of above sable sisters
-----Original Message-----
From: Stormy V. Hope <stormy435@xxxxxxxxx>
To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx List <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Mon, Oct 7, 2013 12:08 pm
Subject: [ SHOWGSD-L ] Furkids? PawParents?
Here's something to discuss� not party time conversations, but maybe sitting
around the fireplace with a hot toddy and some serious conversation?
Fur Kids? Paw Parents?
Stormy Hope, GSDCA Legislative Liaison to AKC
Originally published in the German Shepherd Dog Review, October, 2013
Does language modify behavior or does behavior modify language? Are laws
arising as a result of changes in our language, expressions and words, which
have, in turn, altered our attitudes toward animals?
Words have crept into our vocabulary that is increasingly being reflected in
the
dog/owner relationship. Transformed words and expressions are placing
different
emphases on animal shelters, rehoming organizations and the rehomed dogs, often
to the detriment of that relationship.
Are we, who daily fight to maintain the right to own animals, too harsh on
those
who are anthropomorphizing their dogs by how they use language??
Recently, I posed those questions to a group of thoughtful animal anti-animal
rightist activists, and it was a match that ignited a bonfire. There was
frustration --such as how the word �breeder� is now used to debase decent
people. �Profit� has developed such a negative connotation that breeders
defensively insist that they lose money on each pup. While talking in social
media, breeders can no longer discuss their dogs living in �kennels,� but
the
dogs must now live in �dog rooms.� The �compassionate� reader wonders
about
expressions like �pet quality,� and questions why all dogs aren�t the
same, and
about why one dog is favored over the other.
The group members expressed concern about animal rights groups using words to
harm us, yet, well-meaning breeders use the very same words until they become
familiar and are constantly used in everyday conversations. One person related
how she heard a breeder call another person a �greeder,� because of the
number
of litters she had that year. Everybody has heard another breeder called by
the
infamous �mill� word.
The group was frustrated by the increasing anthropomorphizing language used by
dog owners, not only for �pocket dogs� and �stroller dogs,� but also by
those in
the breeding community. It has become a vocabulary that is increasingly,
deliberately blurring the lines between animal and human. We questioned when
this phenomenon began, as even the younger people in the group couldn�t
remember
their mothers referring to themselves �pawparents,� �pet parents,� or
calling
their dogs �furkids.� The trend seems to have appeared in the early
�90�s at
about the same time that Animal Rights groups were gaining ground in the media
and impacting our lives.
The group discussed words that increasingly anthropomorphize dogs, which should
be anathema to a breeder, as it reduces the worthy and historic interest in
producing quality animals to cartoon characters such as Pongo, Augie and
Snoopy.
Some of the words mentioned, not in any special order of distaste: Pet Parent,
Furkid, (Fur anything), Paw Parents, Furever Home, Foster Mom, Best Friend,
Family Member, and my Baby. There are now even dictionary definitions for most
of those words; they have become so ingrained in dog owner culture. Furkid, for
example is often defined as, �A pet (normally a cat or dog) that the owner
treats as if it were a child.� Modern Dog Magazine wrote that �These words
blur
the divide between humans and other animals in our society, muddying the
comfortably clear-cut distinction we�ve set between the roles and rights of
each� http://moderndogmagazine.com/articles/furkids/12550#sthash.dQXnEDYW.dpuf
The recent dictionary definitions of some words are changing to reflect these
damaging alterations. When looking up a simple word such as companion, the
older dictionary versions define the word as �one that accompanies another:
comrade, associate; also: one that keeps company with another� (Merriam
Webster). A more recent Google Web definition becomes, �a person or animal
with
whom one spends a lot of time or with whom one travels.� An even stronger
change is in the word zoophile. �Zoophile � n. a person who is devoted to
animals and their protection from practices such as vivisection� Collins
English
Dictionary. More recent definitions assign some form of sexual attraction to
animals to the word. There are many other examples of how actual formal
definitions are being altered to reflect a growing change in how animals are
perceived.
These are the terms used by those well-intentioned, admirable folks who rehome
dogs and who want to invoke sympathy for the animals that are found homeless or
in a situation that requires removal. However, words like �rescue�
(�Rescue:
when someone or something is rescued from danger: a daring rescue at sea�)
becomes a term for any dog or animal that is in a shelter for any reason at
all.
It has become that now, when a person buys a dog from a perfectly safe rehoming
organization or shelter, they add �rescue� to the name as if �rescue
dog� was an
actual breed. If asked by a stranger what their dog is, the first response is
often, �Oh, he�s a rescue dog,� or �I rescued him from the shelter.�
There are
certainly cases where dogs are rescued -- the dogs pulled from the Katrina
floodwaters, from absolutely abusive environments, etc. -- however, most dogs
in
shelters or rehoming organizations are no longer in danger; they are safe, no
longer needing to be �rescued.�
While �adopt� can be applied many ways, the first definition will always be
some
version of: �To take into one's family through legal means and raise as one's
own child.� �Adopt,� instead of purchase; �Donation� instead of
purchase fee;
has become the new language for those who rehome dogs. There have, indeed,
become an increasing number of breeders who now �place� their dogs through
�adoption,� with a hefty �adoption fee.�
Why is all of this so important? It makes it easier for those Animal Rightists
to convince the public that animals should have the same *rights* as humans,
and
therefore should not be owned by a human. Such as: Breeders shouldn't breed
(words like *force them to breed* comes to mind); Breeders shouldn't *force*
them to be performance dogs, or show dogs, or therapy dogs. By humanizing dogs
(pawparents, furbabies, my kids) in the media and everyday usage, it increases
that blurring tenfold. It gives the Extremists that much more ammunition to
use
against the owning of animals. We need to be cognizant that by buying into and
using the blurred language promoted by the Animal Rights groups and the media,
we are legitimizing that language. ARs use the transformed expressions in
order
to justify legislation � such as the Guardian ordinance in Boulder and other
cities and states. That ordinance takes away the *ownership* and creates a
completely different legal definition for
the dog in your house. Beware, or be aware of the language that you use,
because it may and will have unanticipated and unintended consequences.
Stormy V. Hope
https://www.facebook.com/GSDCA.LegislationAwareness
https://www.facebook.com/CaRPOC.CaliforniaResponsiblePetOwnersCoalition
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POST is Copyrighted 2012. All material remains the property of the original
author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind
are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the
Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Each Author is responsible for the content of his/her post. This group and its
administrators are not responsible for the comments or opinions expressed in
any post.
ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY
MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS
PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY
FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE
PROSECUTED.
For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxx
VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org
SUBSCRIPTION:http://showgsd.org/mail.html
NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/
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