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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by beardedlady on March 5, 2003, at 9:01:31
I just watched the Willard trailer. I don't remember the movie when I was a kid (though I remember there was a Michael Jackson song, "Ben"). Eek.
beardy : [>
Posted by Tabitha on March 5, 2003, at 13:48:13
In reply to ew gross., posted by beardedlady on March 5, 2003, at 9:01:31
ever watch that cheesy TV show Fear Factor? A favorite stunt seems to be covering people's bodies or heads with live rats. Then there was the one where people had to pick up dead rats in their mouths. Ewwww!
Then again, rats can be cute pets. They come in colors like siamese cats. I used to know a girl who took her pet rat everywhere. While she sat and talked the rat would run around her body and peek out from under her clothes. Sounds Eeew, but at the time I thought it looked cute. It did have a rodenty smell though.
Posted by gabbix2 on March 5, 2003, at 13:56:59
In reply to Re: ew gross., posted by Tabitha on March 5, 2003, at 13:48:13
I had a rat for a pet, I liked him, he was white, and very smart. Unfortunately, he escaped at my parents house when I was visiting (this was a long time ago) My dad, surprisingly patiently helped me hunt for him, but we could not find him
and my Dad had to set a trap and it worked :(What is the 'standard' for cruelty we have.
Is it the size of the animal? I mean, I have to admit, I was sad when the rat was trapped but not as sad and horrified as if had been my cat, although it would not have hurt my cat any more than it did the rat. And my rat was affectionate and smart. I've always wondered that.I know some people think its only cruel if you hurt a pet. For some reason all other animals are fair game, which I think is weird cause if you're going by the pain involved pets aren't more sensitive than other animals.
But even knowing that I still felt different about the Rat, than a different pet.Hmm...
Posted by kara lynne on March 5, 2003, at 14:20:05
In reply to Re: ew gross. » Tabitha, posted by gabbix2 on March 5, 2003, at 13:56:59
The other night in a restaurant my boyfriend looked at me guiltily and said he wanted something on the menu I wouldn't approve of. I said, you go ahead and order the lambchops, and just picture that cute little furry lamb nuzzling up to you innocently, trusting you with every ounce of its little lamb body... or have the lobster, which has been thrown live into a vat of boiling water just to taste fresh for you.... So he ordered spaghetti and meatballs. There is no difference. When I see cows they're sweet looking, and don't probably want to be raised in boxes to become someone's dinner. This is a real sore spot for me because I eat meat when I feel I must. But I hate that I do.
Posted by beardedlady on March 5, 2003, at 15:23:43
In reply to Lamb chops, posted by kara lynne on March 5, 2003, at 14:20:05
No veal or lamb for me--ever. I'm not a vegetarian, but I can't do the baby animal thing. I've never eaten a rabbit either. Or a turtle. Or frog.
I don't mind rats as pets. But thousands of rats eating your flesh? That's something that doesn't sound too appealing.
beardy
Posted by justyourlaugh on March 5, 2003, at 22:02:30
In reply to I never order baby meat!, posted by beardedlady on March 5, 2003, at 15:23:43
when my son was 6 i bought him a fuzzy white hamster "kirby"-nintendo fan....
he spent 2 horrible horrible years alone,trying for dear life to escape from his cage with such terror each and every night ..
we took him out often..lost him a few times..found him skinny after a few days half dead......
one day we were having a party for one of the kids and i wasnt watching so close....
i think my 2 year old squeezed him too hard.......
he was dead the next day..
never do that again to something so helpless...
i am so sorry....
Posted by gabbix2 on March 5, 2003, at 22:20:08
In reply to i feel i should confess, posted by justyourlaugh on March 5, 2003, at 22:02:30
Oh I know how you feel, my heart used to break when I saw how kids used to handle little animals, and I was just a kid myself, and couldn't do anything but try and get them to stop usually getting laughed at.
Lets be realistic though
It somehow feels so much more cruel when a human does it to a small animal. Of course as humans who know better, (you're son didn't, I bet he does now though!) we're able to make different choices.
I could never just watch someone abuse an animal and not do everything I could to stop it, it sickens me, in some ways even more than human suffering.
But please JYL no more guilt. Gut feelings and anguish aside; realistically that little guy didn't suffer any more at your son's hands than he would have in any natural setting. Nature is not particularly kind to its creatures.I know if a cat had gotten at your hamster it wouldn't have thought anything about torturing it before he killed it... when I think about it that way it makes me feel a bit better, though obviously thats not a nice thought either, but its reality.
I hope that helps a bit.
This is the end of the thread.
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