Should We Keep Pets?

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It is important to understand as a preliminary matter that animals are property; they are things that have only extrinsic or conditional value. That is, they have only the value that we, the owners of animal property, accord to them.

Although many of us who live with dogs, cats, and other nonhuman animals value them highly, even these animals are property as far as the law is concerned. Dogs, cats, hamsters, rabbits, and other animals are mass produced like bolts in a factory or, in the case of birds and exotic animals, are captured in the wild and transported long distances, during which journey many of them die. All of these animals are marketed in exactly the same way as are other commodities.

Although some of us may treat our companion animals well, more of us treat them poorly. Many dogs spend less than two years in a home before they are dumped at a pound or otherwise transferred to a new owner and many who adopt animals give them away, take them to shelters, or abandon them. (There are almost 300,000 animals on Petfinder.com as of the writing of this entry.) We are all aware of horror stories about neighborhood dogs on chains who spend most of their lives alone. Our cities are full of stray cats and dogs who live miserable lives and starve or freeze, succumb to disease, or are tormented by humans. Some people who claim to love their companion animals mutilate them senselessly by having their ears cropped, their tails docked, or their claws ripped out so that they will not scratch the furniture.

You may treat your animal companion as a member of your family and effectively accord her or him inherent value or the basic right not to be treated as your resource. But your treatment of your animal really means that you regard your animal property as having higher than market value; should you change your mind and administer daily beatings to your dog for disciplinary purposes, or not feed your cat very much so that she will be more motivated to catch the mice in the basement of your store, or kill your animal because you no longer want the financial expense, your decision will be protected by the law. You are free to value your property as you see fit. You may decide to polish your car often or you may let the finish erode. The choice is yours. As long as you provide the minimal maintenance for your car so that it can pass inspection, any other decision you make with respect to the vehicle, including your decision to give it to a scrap dealer, is your business. As long as you provide minimal food, water, and shelter to your “pet,” and do not beat your dog “too severely,” any other decision you make, apart from torturing the animal for no purpose whatsoever, is your business, including your decision to dump the animal at the local shelter (where many animals are either killed or sold into research), or have her killed by a veterinarian.

Many years ago, I adopted a hamster from a law school classmate. The hamster became ill one night, and I called an emergency veterinary service. The veterinarian said that the minimum amount for an emergency visit was $50 and asked me why I would want to spend that amount when I could get a “new” hamster from any pet shop for about $3. I took the hamster to the veterinarian anyway, but that event was one of the first times my consciousness was raised about the status of animals as economic commodities.