Help Us to keep our shelter
The human-animal relationship, dating back thousands of years, has been crucial for the social development of humanity. There are several types of human-animal relationships, there are utilitarian ones and companion ones. Utilitarian relationships are those that do not have an emotional bond with the animal, they only use it for various benefits (food, clothing, cargo, etc.), which is why these types of animals do not usually develop adaptive behavior towards humans since they hardly have direct contact with them.
On the other hand we have a relationship with pets. the most popular worldwide are dogs and cats, but there are other animals that, depending on the culture, are considered pets and it is in this scenario where we can see animals that we consider to be unrelated to humans, with special adaptations that only develop in the individual, such as a pig or a cow, are animals that are normally used to generate food and humans have created genetic adaptations to make them more productive, which is why these animals do not have as much adaptability as pets (Acero 2019).
After understanding this point we are going to focus on pets and especially dogs and cats, which have been very useful to humans for various activities, in the old days when urban sectors were few, dogs were useful for hunting or tracking and cats to control pests such as rats, but over time more urban environments were built where everything was controlled by humans, so the role of dogs and cats was changing. In some kingdoms they had them for appearance, since each race alluded to money and power, little by little the common people found it interesting to have their pet, in order to also mean status (Ritvo 1987).
But how could dogs and cats become such a fundamental part of most homes? It is important to see how two different species are so associated with humans. This question can have different answers, one of these is the representations of ownership, which refers to why it is decided to have and care for a pet. Throughout history these reasons have changed just like human societies, currently the most relevant reasons are: social support, educators, therapeutics, status and identity (Acero 2019).
Social support refers to the fact that in many homes dogs and cats create a pleasant environment which brings the family together, or if a person is alone it allows them to make friends more easily by having a conversation about their pet. They also have them because they allow children to be educated, since through dogs and cats children learn new behaviors and become sensitive to other species. Therapeutics are widely known, they are trained dogs that keep people with a disorder, syndrome or disease balanced. The status is related to the fact that many people have pets of a certain breed, most of which are expensive, and this allows them to socially show an economic status. Lastly, there is identity. Some people do not choose a breed because of its status, but rather because they identify with its personality or because it brings back memories of animals from the past (Acero 2019).
After giving them a brief introduction about many possible human-animal relationships, in this case in dogs and cats, we can realize that they are adapted to us and also we to them, but we must understand that although they are very knowledgeable animals, they have a different capacity. reaction against what is not beneficial for them, this means that they are defenseless against human abuse, so we must be aware that these are species that depend on us and we have the duty to provide them with well-being and supply basic needs of cats and dogs.
According to the world organization for animal health (OIE) to guarantee the welfare of domestic terrestrial animals, five freedoms enunciated since 1965 must be taken into account:
Free from hunger, thirst and malnutrition
Free from fear and anguish
Free of physical and thermal discomfort
Free from pain, injury and disease
Free to demonstrate natural behavior.
If you cannot provide these minimum conditions, you cannot have a pet, but you can help other animals affected by abandonment through our foundation.
References
Acero Aguilar Myriam.2019.That special relation to cats and dogs. The multispecies family and its metaphors. Tabula rasa humanities journal.núm. 32, pp. 157-179.
Ritvo, H. 1987. The animal estate: The English and other creatures in the Victorian age. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
