Question:
To most of us @ POTN, pets are family, but I see an appalling rise in the # of people who simply see pets as "lifestyle accessories": something designed to express their image, like a car or clothes, rather than someONE to be loved.
Evidence of this phenomenon is seen in the sheer # of pets given away/dumped nowadays. People do it to their kids too sometimes, indicating that children like pets have often become lifestyle accessories. Anyone who gets a pet because it is "cool", trendy, or a way to make themselves feel special is getting a pet for the wrong reason.
You see a lot of lifestyle accessory-pet people buying animals @ Pets Unimlited @ exorbitant prices, then unloading the animal when something becomes cooler.
These are the people who get a dog & walk it once a week, if that, leaving him/her to vegetate the rest of the time while they feel special because they have a cool accessory.
They get small animals like chinchillas & ferrets & dump them when they become "inconvenient", or neglect them in their cages.
I suppose we live in a very selfish age. Most people probably don't think about anyone other than themself anymore. Part of thinking about themself involves gratifying themself & inflating their image w/ pets, & then the pets suffer, as it becomes clear the person would rather pursue other things than actual hardcore one-on-one QUALITY TIME w/ their animals.
I get very, very angry about this, & sorry if I offend anybody. I think most people on here would definitely fall into the category of pet LOVERS, not this type of image-conscious arrogant snob.
Bona fide pet people are the *BEST* people.


Answer:
I can't think of very many things that are more enjoyable that just being home with Jason and the furballs. Even when we are out (together or with other friends) we are constantly thinking/talking about them.
But, you are right. There are many people who buy pets for the image...or they think it would be "fun". It can be seen in the buying trends quite easily. For example, right now yorkies are popular dogs because of their small size and cute faces.


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I think its terrible when people buy animals just because its a trend UGH.
Candice im like you when im out with jason (my jason lol) I cant stop talking about the kids and the pets, I go shopping and am constantly looking at diffrent things when I go shopping thinking, OH so and so would like this, or i need to get this for that one, and Jason's as bad we go out and he always says, hows the critters on pet food, how's there toys? But he dosent "LIKE" all my animals YEAH RIGHT lol.


Answer:
I must admit that I sometimes fall into buying a "trend animal," but since I love most animals (and I would not buy an animal that I disliked, not matter how trendy it was...spiders, ugh! How can anyone keep them as a pet? *Shiver*), it is never a problem. My first hedgie was gotten because it would be "cool," but even though Hope (nicknamed Hopeless) was not very well-tamed, she grew to like me (and only me) because I handled her so much. She even tollerated her baths, though she sometimes would eat the soap so would foam at the mouth and look like she had rabies. LOL. I liked her so much that when she died, I wanted another. I could not get one until about a year ago, when I got Sawatari, who is my little baby boy. I got him at 8 weeks old, and while he is not overly fond of my husband and hates being woken up, if I bring him out at night he is pretty sociable. He even uncurls when you pet him, and will crawl around with his cute little nose wiggling. (Hedgies have the CUTEST noses!)
The iguana came about that way too. My friend had one, and everyong thought it was so cool. Of course I wanted one. However, once I got "Chiquita" (who turned out to be a boy, but was named because he LOVED bananas), I fell in love with the little man. I think lizards are just adorable, anyway, and he used to ride around on my head. LOL. He thought the Christmas tree was his personal Christmas gift, and more often than naught he got to share any fruits or veggies that I was eating. He even got fresh, homegrown stuff since I love fresh fruits and veggies and I love gardening. Heck, I used to take him out on a leash and let him pick out his OWN treats. LOL.
So as long as you intend to love and care for the animal, I don't think it is inheritly wrong to get a "cool" animal. However, if you just intend to use it, as was mentioned, as an accessory to show how "trendy" you are, and you do not intend to make it a part of your family, then go buy a fancy car, not a pet.
I know that I look forward to spending time with my husband and the critters each day. My puppy just has the cutest, most irresistable face, even though she is actually out of her fluffy puppy stage (she's around 6 months), and I love laying on the couch and petting her nose (she loves having her muzzle scratched). I love letting the rabbits so they can turn us into a living jungle gym. We will lay on the bed or sit on the couch and let them run all over us. On our backs, up to our shoulders, even on our heads, for the more adventurous ones. LOL. The cat is an excellent lap-warmer, and it is his preferred occupation (that and midnight vocalist LOL). The hedgie mostly likes to sleep, but we make him come out and be social anyway. Hehe.


Answer:
Pet stores are still businesses first and foremost and they need to make money. One way for them to make money is to play off the 'trendy' pet of the moment and market them to people who have the money to spend. Thus the rise in sales of fish that look like Nemo or dalmations puppies when the movie came out etc.


Answer:
Originally Posted by clearjade
Pet stores are still businesses first and foremost and they need to make money. One way for them to make money is to play off the 'trendy' pet of the moment and market them to people who have the money to spend. Thus the rise in sales of fish that look like Nemo or dalmations puppies when the movie came out etc.
doesnt make it right does it neuro and i were into one of the local petstores here because i had heard from a co-worker about the hedgehog having babies. apparantly they brought in two at xmas time and only sold one. they didnt bother to check the sexes so they had one of each sex not the males they thought. she had her babies and ignored them. one died and the other.....might as well be. i think they are trying to handraise it so they can bring it back to the store and sell it for $239. that royally royally p***** me off!!! to have that total lack of regard for animals.
they also have chins in there at the moment and one is alone and then there is a pair. but they are in small small cages with no toys or shelves.


Answer:
I actually had a question relating to something similar, Ratlady. Maybe you can help me answer it. There's a pet store here that I find absolutely disgusting, and even though I can't bring forth any proof that they're practice isn't good, I have seen things in there that are just wrong. Stuff like them keeping male/female animals in cages together, sometimes related ones!! Last time I was there I saw a gerbil that had just given birth and was dragging babies into a newly made nest (that the male was busy working on). I thought that it was very poor of them to allow that to happen in their own pet store! Is this grounds for asking the SPCA or THS to investigate them? Would it even be effective?
I'm really not sure if it's considered 'unfavorable' conditions by law to keep pets so irresponsibly in that manner. but if i can, i'd like to say something to someone and hopefully get things fixed at least a little. They obviously don't even make an effort to sex their animals. It's sickening.


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I just wanted to bump this topic up again
I saw today a commercial for a "cool pet" barby or something like that that has barbie carrying a chi in her purse and then it shows theses 10 year olds carrying real dogs, then it shows a persian cat that has like 4 kittens and the kittens are sitting on barbies shoulders
I think that this is totally innapropriate.. if barbie cant' have a baby herself why can she breed cats? I think it totally is giving kids the wrong idea.. now girls will be like.. can i have a cat and kittens.. or they may start shoving animals in back packs etc.


Answer:
or they may start shoving animals in back packs etc.
So true! It's a bad image to portray, and I hope the parents of these kids are wise in their choices.


Answer:
OMG I saw that comercial too. It's terrible. i mean if they want barbie to be a vet, or have a puppy or whatever fine, but these new things are awful.