FRANCISCO GUTIERREZ writes at Tradition in Action:

There is a story I would like to share with you to illustrate just how ludicrous the pet situation has become. One day a man whom I shall call Thomas got the news that his mother-in-law and maternal aunt had passed away within days of each other. Thomas had to deal with these losses and pains, and his wife was very sad at the death of her mother. As the story continues, Thomas notified his co-workers about his losses. Most were sympathetic about the situation.

Later that day Thomas learned that a co-worker’s cat had died. The same co-worker and other office workers who had showed a polite sympathy for the death of his relatives became traumatized over the death of the cat. Several made statements like these, “The cat was like her child,” “She had no children, and the cat was her child.”

One person actually told him that she read an article pointing out that a person grieves more for an animal than a family member. To say the least, I was taken aback by the contradiction: more sympathy and grief for the loss of a pet than for persons.

— Comments —

Pan Dora writes:

I believe the writer is misinterpreting the behavior of the office staff over the death of a co-worker’s cat. I see the concern directed towards their co-worker and her feelings of loss. Is Thomas not as close to the other workers as the woman who lost her cat?

George Weinbaum writes:

I agree with Pan Dora.

Laura writes:

This incident aside, the author has accurately described a serious problem.

Priscilla writes:

I probably shouldn’t say this, so of course I will. It should be very evident that human life is worth infinitely more than an animal’s. We can all acknowledge that. However, we may seldom see and hardly know our aged aunt who lives half way across the country, while we enjoy the companionship and close physical contact of an animal friend daily. Our animal friend may give us unconditional love and acceptance, while our mother-in-law might be a constant source of belittlement, stress and strife. In short, it is possible, if reprehensible, that we give and receive more pure affection and derive more sincere pleasure from our animal friend and so feel more real grief at his passing. Sad but true.

“One day, you will be just a memory for some people. Do your best to be good one.”

Priscilla adds:

Another reason for more apparent grief at the death of an animal could be the probability that one has seen it through the entirety of its illness/infirmity and watched its suffering first hand, cared for it and tended it and made the final decision to “put him down “. There is something about the animal’s total dependence and trust that’s likely to cause guilt even if the animal is on its last legs and its quality of life is very low. Also, when a family member passes away, one usually does not return to work until after the funeral and has had several days to process one’s grief and compose oneself. When an animal dies, it’s back to work the next day with the likelihood of behaving like a blubbering idiot. Naturally, co-workers will react to that.

Please follow and like us: