Do pet parents deserve rights of human parents?

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

Maternity leave when you get a new puppy? Time off to take your dog to the vet? Employer paid insurance for pets? FYI, there are a lot of employers that do not provide these for human children either… .” In a divorce, who get's the dog's, cat's, bird's, fish, oh and the lizards and snakes. How do we divide them up, is it considered by your income, or whom is the better care giver, or do they go with the person who truly loves them but may not be able to afford the very best in care.

[Adina P]

I'll bite =)
My answer is...NO way!

My dogs are part of my family, but they are not treated like human family. I don't have kids, but I'm sure once my first is born I won't be able to say I love my dogs LESS than my child. But my love for my dogs and my love for my child will surely look different and be different on a practical level of relationship and expectations (just like my love for my parents and my love for my husband naturally are expressed and experienced differently...no less LOVE...but not the same relationship).

That said...as much as my love for my dogs is real and I value them and want the best for them...until my child is born I don't consider myself a true "parent" to my dogs. Yes I talk about myself as a doggy momma and refer to them as my furry kids...but I don't consider them human. They are my pets and legally my property. They don't have legal rights and never will no matter their age.

This brings up the issue of animal rights vs. animal welfare. Huge difference and one with huge consequences. PETA and other animal rights groups would eliminate pet ownership entirely and reduce MY rights as a human to only 'guardianship' not ownership. Which essentially nullifies my rights as a dog owner and I NEVER want to see that happen.

So I don't think pets should have legal rights beyond what laws can be passed to prevent neglect and abuse. While I don't believe animals should have "rights" (after all they are incapable of asserting their rights or caring for themselves on their own!), philosophically and morally I believe humans have a DUTY to responsibly care for animals they own.

Businesses that give awesome perks to pet owners...cool! It might even improve their employee retention rate and serve their business well! But I would in no way want the government mandating that businesses treat dog owners as 'parents' of their dogs with the same rights and privileges. It becomes a far too slippery slope of interference in private matters.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I wish I had maternity leave to stay home with Lady Peri...I had to use vacation to spend the first few days at home with her! But my work is great about pets and says we can use our sick time for vet visits, sick pets, etc...I think that is pretty nice! And I don't have kids yet so I don't know about who would keep the dogs if I split up with my husband, but I think we would do a shared custody arrangement LOL.

[Tamara & Giada]

Yes, definately shared custody!! Neither of us could stand not ever being around our dogs. They are almost like kids to us, and esepecially with my kids getting older and needing us less........soon the kids will be off to college and all we'll have is our dogs :(

[Linda,Yankee & Finn]

I met a lady last week who has joint custody of her dog. Of course it was a mutual agreement between the parties. I think custody of the pets should be handled the same way as kids. They go with the primary caregiver which is the person who does training, vet visits etc. If it's equal, then joint custody.

What about pet support? You agreed to get a pet together, should both parties contribute to the upkeep?

[Wendy]

No way! My puppies are awesome and I love them but that love is different than how I feel for my kids. My puppies can stay home alone and my kids (3 and 5) can't. Although, I do get to bring the puppies to work like I did my kids :)
My boss and co-workers all love kids and animals so we all bring in pets and kids from time to time.

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

Wow. Maternity leave No. Time off for vet Yes. Insurance No. In a divorce and if custody is equally desired, whoever can provide the fenced yard and walking time.

[fergie11]

Are you saying - paid time off for vet. That's a NO in my book too. In a divorce - clearly who does the dog respond to the best - there always is one. I'm happy to say it's me.

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

No way! I am saying that if you have to take your dog to the vet (most vets here are only opened Mon-Fri 9-5 regular hours) you should be allowed to leave work to do that without being written up for it. We love our dogs. But a dog is a dog. We are dog owners not dog parents. Yet being living creatures they do require medical attention at time and employers should understand the time off for it.

[Adina P]

I agree, that it sure would be nice if employers would be sensitive to this. My disagreement is only in terms of government requirements. I don't think it should be a required thing for an employer to offer.

[fergie11]

I think someone has flipped out here. Dogs are wonderful wonderful for all of us but dogs are dogs. Dogs are our hobby's - and damm good ones. No paid maternity leave - that what your vacation days are for. Paid insurance for a dog - NOT! Like it's been said, many kids and people don't have insurance. If someone can't afford vet bills and so forth - don't get a dog. Actually, I feel if someone can't afford a child they shouldn't have them either. Pls get real here.

[Michele Barton]

Amen to that! Though I wouldn't call my dogs my hobby, I would call them my passion, and I love them! That said, I would die willingly for my children and granddaughter, not my dogs. I wouldn't mind being able to claim them as dependents though!

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

After reading the opinions on here I can see both sides of the fence, Maternity leave was designed for Women who worked and needed time off to care for themselves and their newborns. All is good with that and I totally respect that. When a person needs to be off because of an illness for a dog, it should be personally discussed by the employer and the employee, if the employee can get someone to fill in for them...great..if not it really should be up to the employer because we are also doing a dis-service to the company who is relying on us being there to work.
As for Paid pet insurance, if you want to offer it for pets...OK..BUT.....YOU better HAVE INSURANCE FOR EMPLOYEES and their FAMILIES first. If you don't and you want to offer different types to your employees and they pay for it all...sometimes that is up to the companies.
Divorce... I think its a split...50/50 and both should pay towards their care, both agreed to have the dog, if not than the person who is responsible for getting the dog, should be responsible for the care of the dog unless other arrangments can be made for the best interest of the dog.