pippixox
Well-Known Member
I am deep in thought today, the day before I PTS my 7 year old new forest pony Socks due to liver disease (suspected cancer).
It helped me to write something down so I thought I would share it here.
I am not a great writer and rarely think about words and their meanings. But today I have been thinking about the word ‘owner’: we often talk about owning animals, as they are technically objects that we possess. True, often money is exchanged to buy them and they don’t choose to be ‘owned’ by us, so it isn’t like a typical relationship between two people. But they do chose to love us, to look after us and to be our friends. Which in my mind constitutes a great mutual relationship. My animals are not my children. I did not carry or birth them, and they are in many ways easier to ‘replace’, I can buy another one, almost as easily as you buy a pair of shoes or a car. But there is no like for like, one will never truly replace the other. Because they are family. Each animal I ‘own’ has influenced my life for the better and in their own unique way. The one last gift I can give any of my fury four legged family is prevent them suffering, taking ‘ownership’ of a bad situation and letting them go peacefully, and as hard as it may be to say goodbye I am grateful I can make the decision, rather then elongating any pain. Because I’m not simply an owner, I am their friend and they are mine.
It helped me to write something down so I thought I would share it here.
I am not a great writer and rarely think about words and their meanings. But today I have been thinking about the word ‘owner’: we often talk about owning animals, as they are technically objects that we possess. True, often money is exchanged to buy them and they don’t choose to be ‘owned’ by us, so it isn’t like a typical relationship between two people. But they do chose to love us, to look after us and to be our friends. Which in my mind constitutes a great mutual relationship. My animals are not my children. I did not carry or birth them, and they are in many ways easier to ‘replace’, I can buy another one, almost as easily as you buy a pair of shoes or a car. But there is no like for like, one will never truly replace the other. Because they are family. Each animal I ‘own’ has influenced my life for the better and in their own unique way. The one last gift I can give any of my fury four legged family is prevent them suffering, taking ‘ownership’ of a bad situation and letting them go peacefully, and as hard as it may be to say goodbye I am grateful I can make the decision, rather then elongating any pain. Because I’m not simply an owner, I am their friend and they are mine.
