In Defense of Rover

I am a news junkie…I will readily admit.  I read anything and everything so it takes very little to shock/disturb me. However, that all drastically changed when I picked up this week’s TIME magazine. It appears Iran has now declared war on dog ownership and is actually proposing to criminalize such an act.  The law is said to be an official tactic to strike back at the younger generation of Iranians who are adopting more Westernized attitudes and traditions.  So basically, because they cannot influence their citizens, they are punishing Rover.  Canines have had a pretty significant presence in Iranian history too…from royalty using them for hunting and companionship to farmers using herding dogs for their flocks. 

As most people know, I am a huge dog lover…so I find this issue to be extremely troubling.  Pertinent questions immediately arise such as “what will they do with all of these dogs” and “how will they even enforce such a law?” It also brings up many other implications about dog ownership and animal rights that exist here in the US.  As Gandhi famously said “the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”  Yet here in the United States, approximately 5 million to 7 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year, and approximately 3 million to 4 million are euthanized.  Animal cruelty laws are still archaic in some states…in Mississippi, for instance, the penalties for neglect and dog fighting are the same: a fine of between $10 and $100 or jail time for between 10 and 100 days. Someone who maliciously injures or kills a dog or cat cannot be fined more than $1,000 or imprisoned for more than six months. The only restitution required is the replacement value of the animal, plus the cost of any veterinary fees or other expenses incurred.  Yet, publically urinating will land you a fine for at least $500. 

So how did we get here you may ask?  Well the topic of animal rights can be traced back to the Old Testament where multiple laws set forth concerning the welfare of animals.  There are requirements that animals also rest on the Sabbath and that they be fed before feeding oneself.  Over the course of history, viewpoints have changed regarding the ethical treatment of animals and where they stand in civilized society.

I remember taking a required Philosophy course that dealt with the topic of human consciousness.  At first, I thought the class was a huge joke.  The professor that taught it was so utterly convinced that she was the reincarnation of Descartes himself that I didn’t really see the point of offering any counterpoints.  That was until we started to discuss the relativity of consciousness as it applies to human beings versus animals.  As one might foresee, this also led into a huge discussion about slaughtering animals for food.  A topic perhaps for another day, however, the question itself is one of great importance.  Do animals possess consciousness?  That is, are they capable of self-reflection and other conscious awareness (read- “I think, therefore I am”) normally attributed to human beings only?  In many societies, the rights and protections we give our animals are greatly based on this principle. 

Bubba & George: My 2 stowaways

Descartes was not of the belief that animals are truly conscious beings.  He also contended that they cannot feel pain nor empathy.  I tried to convince that to my dog George…that the pain of his bladder about to burst is not really pain at all and he should let me sleep in for just a little longer.  Needless to say, he didn’t go for it.  Descartes asserted that in order to have consciousness, one must possess language.  Obviously, he didn’t think that one through.  If we were to give rights based on that philosophy…than infants, the mentally challenged and comatose patients would be equated to animals.

All philosophical debates aside, I cannot imagine a world where having a dog would be illegal.  If this were to ever happen here, I would pack it up and leave a la Gonzalez style.  I wonder, even for those who are not huge dog fans…how do you feel about this?