Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Re: Yawn, Pets-Their impacts

[Collaborative Housing Society (cohosoc]

Just one more tidbit on pets (and on life here in Toronto).  The Toronto
Humane Society, once considered the most "radical" mainstream animal-rights
organization in North America, will not let anyone adopt a cat or dog
without signing a commitment to keeping them indoors (obviously, dogs get to
go out, but on a leash).
This is both for the animals' safety - cars and all that - as well as the
safety of the other animals we share this city of 2,000,000 with.
Our cats would love to get outside, and occasionally do.  The first time we
let them out was at a friends home in the country.  They were so grateful
that they immediately went out and caught 3 birds, just to say thanks.
Now, whenever they go out, they're on a leash.  At first they hated it, but
now it's just normal.  In fact, they get quite excited when the leash comes
out of the secret drawer.
Is this "natural" or "fair".  Well, we domesticated these wild creatures,
both dogs and cats. . .
I offer this mostly as a way of suggesting that the reality of how we
negotiate our lives with other beings, human and otherwise, usually lies
somewhere in between the black of "let them roam free" and the white of "no
animals allowed".
This bi-polar thinking - black and white, the grey be damned! - to me is a
product of Scientific Reasoning. . . just had to throw that in there!

Russell Mawby
CoHoSoc
Bio to follow