Ponderings

[3rdragon]

There was a story on NPR this morning about pet health insurance.

I would like to say that I love animals. They make our lives immeasurably better in so many ways. There is a cat in Philadelphia who will leave me heartbroken when he dies.

That said, I'm really not sure about pet health insurance. Yes, in my perfect world, no animal would be put down for medical issues that could be easily treated. But I have difficulty countenancing giving a level of medical security to our pets that we can't guarantee to our citizens.

Thoughts?


On other moral issues:
-I believe that, as a Christian, I should love my neighbor.
-I also believe that, as a Christian, I should not lie (less obvious, but I take a certain bible verse to mean that I should not swear to tell the truth and I affirm that I am telling the truth instead, which to me implies that I've been telling the truth this whole time.

Most of you are aware that I have a history of not getting along with my ex-next-door-neighbor A.
I saw her in the dining hall yesterday, and we smiled and waved and generally behaved like we liked each other.

I do not like her.

So here's the question:
Is it better to lie by my actions and have the outward appearance of loving my neighbor?
Or to be honest and not like her at all.

Clearly the best option is to actually like her, but I'm not that far yet.

Comments

[rumorofrain.livejournal.com]

The problem with your argument against pet insurance is that it's not an either/or situation: if people don't buy health insurance, that won't somehow provide insurance for other humans.

Pet insurance is a luxury good, purchased by individuals. It's something people buy when they have enough money, foresight, and love for their pets to do so. It doesn't mean they value their pets more than they value other humans. It means they're trying to be financially savvy by making plans in case of emergency. It's the same reason people buy human health insurance: to try to save money in the long run.

That said, I don't have pet insurance. Pet health insurance plans tend to exclude a lot of procedures, so it makes more sense to me to have a savings account for pet health emergencies instead of paying money to a service that may or may not pay up when I need it.

Everyone has different priorities, and expresses them in different ways. I happen to think that pets are not commodities, to be cared for when it's convenient and left to suffer or die when it's not convenient. I think if people are going to take animals into their homes, they're signing up to be responsible for that animal's welfare, to the best of their ability. Yes, there will be times when people have to make tough financial decisions about whether to try to prolong Fido's life with an expensive surgery or not. That's not what I'm concerned about. It's when people tell vets, "Just put him down; it'll be cheaper for me to get a new puppy" that I find appalling. (That's a true story, and too many stories like that is why an acquaintance of mine no longer works at an emergency vet hospital.)

No, animals aren't people. But they are living creatures that can feel pain, and it's our responsibility to make sure they suffer as little as possible while under our care. If that means paying hundreds of dollars to get my (free) cat's teeth pulled when they become painful to her, so be it. If it means paying to giving her a merciful, quick death when I can't prevent her suffering anymore, I will give it to her. But as long as I can take care of her needs, I will.