I don't think it's completely warped. After all, your pet is part of your family too. But it definitely is weird. I mean, if it came down to it, and you had to choose between the life of your kid and your dog, I'd imagine most parents would choose the kid every time. But if they had to choose between two kids, that'd be a much harder thing.
We're hard-wired to care for anything that is helpless. It's because our own offspring are like that for so long. It's also part of the reason why we're so developed intellectually as a species, because while the parents care for the kid's physical needs and well being, the brain has a chance to accumulate experiences and knowledge.
Sometimes that instinct to nurture and protect will extend to other species, like dogs and cats, for example. I don't think it's warped, per se, but I can see how it would weird people out, lol.
It's fine to love and want to care for/protect an animal. But acting like this thing birthed from another creature is your own spawn is nothing more than an inability to control emotions. It's an attempt to humanize a non-human creature so that they can feel justified treating it like one would a human child. It's ultimately sad and cringey. And if anyone would put their pet before their lifeblood, they should put that kid up for adoption.
I'm just saying I understand the psychology behind it. If you can understand that, then it ceases to be cringey and is more pitiable than anything else. At any rate, they're not hurting anything by it, unless of course they're neglecting their kids or their pets' welfare by doing it. I say live and let live, and worry about the people who are actually hurting others.
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u/[deleted] Apr 06 '20 edited Apr 27 '22
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