Is It Right to Domesticate Animals?

I spent all my adolescent years with some type of pet living in the home. For me, it was wonderful. Whenever I wanted, like a business open 24 hours, I could go find my dog and cuddle with her. Kelsey was her name; an eccentric, youthful Chocolate Labrador mixed with German Shepard. Like any most domesticated dogs in suburban town, the thing she wanted most was to be taken on walks, to at least experience something else of this beautiful life rather than be held up in the house all day. But that's just it, whenever I needed, she was in my viscinity and always. She didn't have the will to just explore what she wanted. She spent endless hours staring at the carpet, probably dreaming of what's out there. The best she got was a few hours during a day to roam around, on a leash mind you, in some local forest.

From a young age, my family installed one of those "prong collars" around her neck for when we took her for walks. Growing up, I didn't interpet how cruel this could actually be. My dog would jump in excitement whenever we grabbed the collar designed to literally choke the poor thing... as long as she could get outside she would be happy to choke herself. The desperate look in her eyes started to make me question the necessity of such a device. Now, I understand some say prong collars are supposed to be one of the most humane ways to keep your dog on a leash, and I understand that if yours has the "nubbed" tips. But the one my dog wore was not nubbed, they were sharp and likely painful... To put myself in the perspective of the dog, I would easily say no. I think using a harness is a much more humane way of keeping your dog on a leash. I would never want to choke a poor animal.

It became clear to me at a young age that a setting like ours is no place for an animal. Animals, just like humans, just want to free in the world and explore without constant restraints. Expecially in the company of a pretty dysfunctional family, frequent fighting that would sometims even be taken out on the poor dog. I remember every chance she got she would run away in the town. I would cry looking for her, imagining never seeing her again. She was so helpless, I pitied her hard.

Once, the family and I went out for brunch to a nearby diner. There was a loud rain storm that occurred when we were out eating. As we arrived back at the house, we discovered a small area clawed out in the wall that my dog had made. She must have become so scared by the storm that she tried to make her way out the garage and out of the house. Maybe she missed her owners, or she simply wanted to run away. After that day, my father made a new installation to the household: a dog crate. So from then on, anytime the family would leave the house, I was urged to put Kelsey in a crate where she would have nearly enough room to even turn her body. I shouldn't be highlighting my "struggles" in this story, but it wasn't easy at all for me to put her in the cage. She cried and resisted as much as she could until we forced her in captivity(even though her whole life with my family was in captivity). Soon after her first days in the crae, she destroyed it. She bent the bars and found a way out of that prison. So my parents found a new, upgraded crate for her. One that she would surely never have a chance of breaking free from. In fact, one that she would never have a chance even seeing light from. It was called a "Zinger" crate. These things are manufactured not too far from my hometown, designed with illuminum sheets, and merely mini holes carved through the metal for her to see the light from.

The epitome of a doggy jail cell, my dog was forced to hours on end begging for mercy in this crate. We would come home some days only to see Kelsey panting awaiting the arrival of her owners, blood on the floor from clawing at the bars so much. She would exhaust all the energy she had to just attempt to have one bit more closer to freedom. Growing older into this, I started to think that she must despise us. Especially me, i was the one who was responsible to put her in the crate most of the time, being the last one to leave the house because I had high-school at that time. Most days, I wouldn't put her in, because I knew it was an unneccessary torture for her. She would obviously be fine without it. All she had to do was lay on the carpet in the house anyway... she just didn't want to spend the day squeezed into a container like some material object. Could you just imagine the pain of spending almost 8 hours a day or more living in a cage you could barely fit in? I could, but I chose not ot most of the time. It was easier for me not to think deeply about my dog's struggle. I would tell myself, "Well, she doesn't have it THAT bad." That is what we do in these situations, when we're too weak to confront the whole truth.

It came to the point where I graduated high-school, and it was just my mother and I living at home. I was eager to escape the lifestlye(and I could, I was free to just get up and go), so right after I got my diploma I moved into the city of Montreal and started a new life alone. My mother also moved provinces to live with my dad, and they weren't able to bring the dog because it was too much of a struggle. This was hard for me to stomach... to see the dog we took in since she was a puppy to be given off to the next customer. I now understand the importance of going through with commitments you make, especially when it is taking care of another living thing's life. But, luckily, we found a farm for her to live on. It was a large property, filled with lots of other dogs, too. I hope there she can be free and be able to run around as she wishes.

This whole experience and what I have witnessed from treatment of other pets leads me to asking this: Is it right to domesticate animals? After all, these were originally wild animals born with a purpose to roam this earth in their own families until we took them from their homes and started making endless breeds. It's come ot the point where we have breeded pugs that can't even breathe properly because of the design of their body. I understand that in some cases we can "provide" a happy life for some of these animals, especially since domestication has been taken so far out of proportion that we really have no choice other than taking them in.

I know some people who read this might say something like, "Well, just because your dog had a bad life in your home doesn't mean every pet will." But I'm sure that most pets living in cities and suburbs don't get nearly enough freedom as they wish. I think the only honest life for a domesticated pet could be on a farm of some sort... where they can explore wilderness on their own. That is the problem with domesticated pets: they can't do anything on their own. They're our plush toys to be played with for our satisfaction, and they barely get the consideration they need. Now, I know most owners care deeply about our animals, but it doesn't excuse the position they are put in. Who are we to play God and dictate what happens to these free animals for their lives? Like the animal farming industry, humans have taken themselves to a beyond immoral stage, where animals are being abused, tortured, murdered... for what? So little Jimmy can cuddle with the puppy he's always dreamt of having since he was a little kid? Fuck little Johnny, he can get over not having that puppy. His parents can have a dialogue with him about it and discuss the moral probabilities of the situation, and he can understand on a direct language basis. But these animals can't comunicate directly with us. It's really that simple... they can't communicate with us so we shouldn't be determining what happens to them.

Just because another species is superior in ways to another, does not mean they should do whatever they please with the other species.

Look at those beautiful specimens! They just want to be happy and free! Thanks for reading, and go vegan. :)

Ryan Oats, out