Pets of the Future

Pets of the Future

"There will be no pets in the future", I casually stated during one evening's dinner conversation. The reaction I received from my family was a vehement outcry of rejection and impossibility. I was stunned, as I was only expressing a viewpoint, not a fact. My child, who is eleven years old couldn't accept such a future and imagined not having his pet, Sandy, our lovable, cross breed poodle like canine. My partner, also expressed the same impossible future, stating the viewpoint that pets are essential to help ease loneliness and provide much needed companionship to people in need.

This led me to think more about this idea and as to why I believe pets will cease to exist in the future.

First, I need to examine the purpose pets serve.

Here are my top 10 reason why people have pets today:

1. Loneliness: we all know that senior citizens and people suffering from mental illnesses or psychological problems such as depression are extremely lonely and need a pet. A dog's wagging tail, a fish's gurgle, a bird's caged chirp, is enough to melt anyone's heart and fill it will healing power;

2. Companionship: Pets are cute and loveable, they make you feel good and give you unconditional love, even after you've stepped on them by accident, mutilated them by spaying or neutering them, declawed them, cut their ears, clipped their feathers, kept them in small bowls, fed them dry, unsavory hard food - they're so amazingly loving and forgiving;

3. Protection: Pets can serve as effective and cheap security guards, providing you with much needed protection by simply cohabitating in your home. They can be vigilant, barking at anyone that approaches your door, window, or garage, meowing, tweeting loudly, frantically crawling up cages, in sum, they make great house alarms;

4. Routine: Yes, pets inspire you to follow a routine. They require that you feed, walk, groom, play with them on a regular and consistent basis. They keep you on track; how else are you going to get to work on time without your cat kneading on your chest every morning?

5. They are so good for kids that I break this up into two points:

a) Responsibility: With a pet your child will gain a sense of purpose and responsibility; I certainly know how difficult it is to get my kid to brush his teeth every morning or make his bed. It's nice to know pets are there to help out. Sometimes your child may forget to feed Fluffy or drops her on her head; oops, there goes another hamster... "we'll just get another one, Johnny didn't mean to drop him" mother says.

b) Playmates: There is no doubt that kids need pets to play with. Forget about dolls and stuffed animals, nothing like the real thing that meows, scratches, barks, and poos for real! Thank God mom and dad are around to pick up the mess and re-upholster the furniture. Most importantly pets serve the crucial purpose of replacing you, by providing emotional fulfillment on those off days you are absent or distracted from your child.

6. Exercise: For some people there would be no exercise if they didn't have a pet that is outdoor friendly.

7. Stress reducers: their mere friendliness, the way a snake eats a rat, or a dog pulls on a leash can provoke feeling of relaxation and inner harmony.

8. Social: having a pet prompts you to get out, smell the roses, enjoy the sunshine, meet new people; how else are you supposed to get a date?

9. Non Judgmental: pets don't talk back, or judge you when you curse at your neighbor. They will accept any opinion, view point, or action that is bleak, biased or uninspiring (forgive them if they yawn).

10. Charity: pets need to be adopted, saved, rescued and protected. After all, they're all over the place, crossing the street, living under your deck. Ooops, I was talking about the skunk, but that's not really a pet, or is it? In general, pets need us to save them from the destruction we've caused. It's vital to save that endangered Macaw from its overly exploited rain forest or the dog from streets teeming with cars.

I'm sure there are more reasons why people desire to have pets, but these will suffice for now.

To sum up, a future without pets would lead to extreme loneliness and lack of companionship. We would have no cheap home protection, and we wouldn't be able to discipline ourselves with a regular and well planned routine. Our children wouldn't gain any sense of responsibility and they would have virtually no real playmates. Stress would be abundant in our lives, inappropriate language and behavior would go unchecked, while some people would never get a date. Finally, streets would be overflowing with abandoned animals with no one caring for them. This is really bleak but as I write this I pull myself together and stay focused on my vision for a future without pets.

The future:

A future without pets would mean that we would have established a strong social system, where loneliness is dealt with at the human level. In the future, the creation of inspiring programs that unite people by bringing them together through community and group involvement will be the norm. There will exist no segregated group homes, rather new community models where socialization, recreation and innovation take front and center stage. Observing birds, bees, insects, frogs, snakes, dogs, cats and monitoring their movements, migratory patterns, feeding habits and a sleuth of other animal behaviours, will be considered valuable and a worthwhile activity to undertake. These observations will inspire creativity and solutions to the various problems animals and habitats face. This will be a source of true enjoyment.

A future without pets will mean that your child will learn responsibility by witnessing the manner in which a dog cares for her cubs. For example, Animal Conservation Zones (ACZ) will exist where your child can see dogs cooperating as they live in packs, respect each other's pecking order, feed and play with one another. In essence, your child will learn how to be free and happy, by enjoying the freedom and joy of others. Is there any lesson that could be more valuable?

In other ACZs (animal conservation zones), dogs, cats, rodents, reptiles and the occasional raccoon will be exposed to humans from an early age. They will roam free and enjoy human interactions as they live in a natural habitat. Abandoned, underused land will be recovered and animal friendly zones created. These animals will receive minimal supervision, with controlled human interaction. Other than basic vaccinations, a fair supply of food and fencing around the property, mainly for their protection, our pets of today will be free tomorrow.

For aquatic creatures, real life, underwater, lake, river, ocean observatories will be abundant and will serve as learning centers. Aquarians will be a thing of the past.

In the future, visiting animal conservation zones will be a great way for you to get exercise, fresh air and meet new people. You won't have to worry about leaving your pet Max home alone, starring aimlessly out the window.

Pitty for animals will be non-existent. At the sight of a suffering animal, temporary shelter will be provided until the animal is rehabilitated and introduced into a pet friendly zone. People in the future will recognize that pets are sentient beings, like ourselves, they desire shelter, food, mating opportunities and the opportunity to enjoy life. Confining them to cages, aquariums, boxes, living rooms, and backyards, will be seen as inhumane.

In the future, we will realize that joy and freedom is our ultimate goal and the highest pursuits in life. Imprisoning animals, objectifying them, and supporting the pet industry through purchases and sales, while removing them from their natural habitats will be seen as old world and outdated. True progress will be found when we free our house-bound pets, getting involved in re-structuring our precious ecosystems, while freeing our enslaved psyches from 'cute' animal dependence.

The future can begin now. Advocate for leash free zones in your community, stop the purchase of animals, (even if they're being artificially bred), join movements that rehabilitate local habitats and support efforts that reintroduce animals back into the wild (including your pet lizard). Transitions takes time so don't get rid of Spotty just yet. A solid program based on love and care in which the wellbeing of all parties involved (human and pets) must be established.

The future is upon us, creating sanctuaries where our pets and people can be free and live in harmony with nature is ultimately the destiny that awaits us all.