Why do people want pets?

         Pets.  We see them everywhere, we hear people talking about their new puppy or old dog, and our emotions go out to the sad animal on the side of the road, but why?  What is the reasoning behind so many people in this county being pet owners?  What is our emotional draw toward animals?  What benefits do we actually get from our pets?  In this blog that is the question that I am going to try to answer.  I myself have always had pet dogs and cats growing up and have always felt some kind of connection between myself and animals, but why?  It is definitely a unique quality that only humans share; we don’t see any other species with pets.

             Looking back through history animals didn’t start out as pets.  Instead, humans used animals for the specific services they could provide.  Cats killed mice, rats and other disease spreading vermin; dogs were found to be effective hunting partners, offered protection to humans, and were trained to help humans herd and manage livestock; and horses were used as transportation and to plow fields.  Horses, dogs, and even pigeons have been used to serve humans during wartime, often essential wartime assets.  Animals are still used today for many of these purposes, but many more are merely kept as pets.

            According to animalfreedom.org, the most common reasons for keeping pets are: company, socializing, status, something to do, and their beauty (“Why Do People Want Pets”).  Many people use pets to substitute relationships with other humans.  The animal serves people’s need to cherish, love and fight boredom.  But this is a distressing reason for keeping a pet; the animal is a replacement for normal human contact for whatever reason.  Pets are also used to make socializing with others easier.  People are more inclined to strike up a conversation with others when they can focus their attention on the animal in a silent moment.  Pets give status.  Often people will pick animals that reflect an attitude they are trying to portray such as dangerous or dainty.  Pets are also used to simply prevent its owner’s self-boredom.  Many pets require a lot of attention and give their owners a way to pass the time.  Finally, people find animals attractive.  No matter what the animal’s physical appearance, someone will always find them interesting and desirable. 

            There are multiple studies that counteract one another on the benefits of animals such as reducing blood pressure, lowering stress levels, and increasing one’s life.  In my research I found studies which both proved and disproved these ideas.  The bottom line seems to be that animals were brought into our lives out of our actual working need for them and we haven’t been able to let go since.  There are many people and organizations on both sides of issue whether we are being selfish by having animals or if it is beneficial to both.  Wherever you stand on the issue, animals should be respected and treated humanely. 

Works Cited

“Why Do People Want Pets?” AnimalFreedom.org Web. 12 May. 2011  

A View of Iraq from a Soldiers Perspective

I would like to use this blog to discuss my experiences and the changes I have seen over the last 8 years in Iraq.  There have been many discussions over the reasoning that we went to war with Iraq, whether it was a good or bad decision, and why we are still here.  As a soldier, you don’t get to give your opinion on what U.S. policy should be or what we are or aren’t going to do.  I first went to Iraq in 2003 during the initial invasion.  As a pilot, I was able to see almost the whole country of Iraq and the sad shape that it was in.  Saddam Hussein was an evil dictator who killed hundreds of thousands of his own people and ruled the country in a way that his people were suffering.  I was able to see much of this first hand, as I spent time flying around the country.  By the end of my tour in 2003 we had completely taken over the country of Iraq.  Iraq was in shambles from the initial invasion and the years of abuse by Saddam.  From the air, you would see very few lights on at night, the people in southern Iraq were without water for their fields, as a punishment from Saddam, and the entire infrastructure of the country was broken. 

       
By my next trip to Iraq in 2007-08 there was a substantial improvement.  Cities were being rebuilt, insurgency populations were down, and several airfields in Iraq were being controlled by Iraqi air traffic controllers.  There was a sense of stability in Iraq, as the people were able to start regaining control of their country.  Now on my third and hopefully final “combat” deployment to Iraq, it is an entirely different country.  Flying overhead you see new sky-scrapper construction in cities like Erbil, ground lights are comparable to flying over any areas of the U.S., and Iraqis are refueling our aircraft.  We now share the skies with Iraq military pilots, as well as commercial airliners.  Many perceive Iraq as simply a barren desert, but there are many beautiful areas of Iraq.  Aside from you views of whether or not we should have gone to war with Iraq, the changes to this country are nothing but amazing.  It is my hope that someday in the future I would be able to travel to Iraq as a tourist and see the progress and stability that this country could achieve.  The media seems to forget these areas after the “wars” are over, but I guarantee the millions of people who reside in Iraq will have a better more successful future than before we were involved.  

Iraqi Soccer Team