selfish or not?

[monkey1]

i was on another forum discussing pets and someone had said that wanting a pet for companionship is selfish.

 

i then thought "so does that mean if i want a partner in my life, like a boyfriend, mean that i'm selfish? does wanting a relationship mean i'm selfish? does wanting someone there to share my life with who i watch tv with, take out, go on walks with mean i'm selfish?"

 

do you think wanting a relationship with a person (life long or not) is selfish?

 

i don't know, i don't think wanting to share your time with someone is selfish just because i don't think just benefits me, but benefits them too.

 

i think it's natural that people want a feeling of belonging and i think pets are similar too.

 

i mean isn't that why they you tend to hear that people who are married or have pets live longer?

 

thoughts?

[CarnelianButterfly]

I don't think its selfish. I care for my cat, I feed her, clean up her poop and vomit, and all she does is purr and cuddle up with me. Its hard to see how loving and caring for someone and not expecting anything in return is selfish.

[lozic21]

The whole purpose in getting a dog or cat is for companionship! Don't see at all how it's being selfish...especially since you are the one taking care of it!

[robowarrior]

Yes it is a form of selfishness, you bring something else in your life to fill up the empty gap called lonelyness. Now you probably won't see it on a small scale like bringing a pet into your life, but on a universal scale its the root of all evil. Why? Because you don't have the right to bring something into existence as a gap filler of your own problems. that's pure selfishness, so in all honestly that friend of yours is right.

 

Still i have to expand on that. Imagine you where the creator of the universe lets say God. And You where the only being in existence, do you have the right to create souls in order to diminish your own lonelyness? Dragging others into an existence that they do not wish for is the greatest form of crime in existence that i could think off.Even if you are God and could give yourself that right, its still selfishness which is a sin.

[lozic21]

hmmm robowarrior...so according to you it would be less selfish to let an animal die in a shelter? Its not like the owner brought the animal into the world! haha, and the root of all evil? sure...

 

more like the root of existence.

[Crazyaboutdogs]

To look at having a pet or a companion as simply being selfish is such a negative way of looking at things. Selfish is when only one person cares to benefit from a situation. When you have a pet or companion, the other side benefits as well from the love and care you give. It is too easy to look at everything we do as being selfish. Even volunteer work can be viewed as selfish because volunteers do that for a sense of self-worth. It does no good to view everything as selfish. To be considered truly selfish a person would simply disregard other people's feelings and do what is good for them only.

[robowarrior]

Is our entire existence a form of selfishness derived from God? That might explain why everything in the rest of the universe(our planet) seems so selfish,and forfilled of darkness and hatred.

[DN]

Seeing as the pet also gets companionship along with food, warmth and shelter, it doesn't seem a bad deal to me.

[Max1]

I do not think you are selfish at all for wanting a pet. Cats and dogs are some of our best companions. They offer us unconditional love. They are always there for you and never judge you. As long as you are good to them they will be good to you. I don't know what I would do with out my cat and dog. The only time I could think that it would be wrong for someone to get a pet is if: a- they can't afford it (emergencies ect.), b- they are in school, or c- the person is the type to "just get over something" rather quickly. A pet is part of the family and as long as you know that you can be responsible for a life and commit to them for as long as they are around (alive) then I don't see the problem. And if you want a pet I would suggest adopting one from a shelter. There are many great animals wanting homes. I always feel for the guys penned up in shelters. They need to be loved just as much as the rest of us, sometimes more. I think that adoping an animal is one of the least selfish things one could do. You are saving an animal and giving it a loving home and a life outside of a cage. As long as you know what you are doing having an animal is great.

[monkey1]

But is it the same as wanting a boyfriend or girlfriend?

 

i guess to me i consider being selfish is if you had a pet, or a boyfriend and only wanted them because they made you happy and they weren't. like you didn't care about their well-being or happiness and i think being considering their feelings or their happiness ISN'T being selfish.

[DN]

Partly, but there is a big difference between the companionship offered by a pet and that by a romantic partner.

 

And since as human beings we are programmed to want human companionship, how can it be selfish?

[Dako]

I intend to get a dog someday and treat it like my buddy, talk to it and give it a good life. My dogs have always been from shelters.

I want a dog for companionship to cure my lonliness.

Selfish? Sure, but the pooch will get a loyal friend as well. Seems fair.

[Anna.]

My friend works at an animal clinic and she told me there is an old man who has requested when he dies that his (relatively young) dog be put to sleep and buried w/ him. Talk about selfish!

[lozic21]

She should ask him if the dog dies, does he want to be put to sleep and buried with it...

[Anna.]

for real.

[renaissancewoman101]

It's not selfish to want pets to take away loneliness. You and your pets have an interdependent relationship. They depend on you for food, shelter, vet care, etc. You depend on them to fill that lonely void in you.

 

I have four guinea pigs and they mean the world to me. I take care of them and provide them a good place to live. They interact with each other, wheek at me for food, and run to me when I am around. They give me love and joy and dont ask for much.

[NKP]

No its not selfish, if you take care of it and everything well its the kindess thing you could ever do to an animal. The selfish thing would be if you just watch and let it die and not care about it

[Momene]

I think dogs are great and all the family love our dog and our rabbit.

[RayKay]

As long as you are prepared to give that pet...or that relationship/partner...all it needs and you are responsible, emotionally stable and reliable...it is NOT selfish.

 

I would call it selfish if you were on the other hand trying to "buy love" without being able to give that pet a proper healthy home, or if you were wanting a partner without being able to be committed to the relationship. Does that make sense?

 

I adore my bunny rabbit and my cat, and they love me, so we both win out. Plus they are spoiled rotten.

 

I also adore and love my boyfriend greatly, and we enhance one anothers lives....so how is that selfish?

[valiantv]

i was on another forum discussing pets and someone had said that wanting a pet for companionship is selfish.

Don't understand the logic of that, but I suppose it is selfish, and posting about it here was selfish too as you were looking for advice for yourself... You certainly weren't doing it for our benefit!

Also when you give someone a gift and feel good when they react to it with happiness, that's selfish too!

 

One possibility with the person who called you selfish is that you maybe said you weren't going to get the pet from Animal Welfare... thereforeeee you weren't really helping the pet... I dunno