Let’s talk about pets. Whether you have a pet or know someone who has one, you generally understand the concept of the whole situation: You have an animal living in your home, you take care of it, you bond with it; it’s a beautiful relationship.
Throughout my life I have gone through this cycle with an animal that has had either feathers, fins, or fur. Never once did I question their existence in my house. That is until I read the book “Me And Earl And the Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews.
Now if you read this book, you’re probably going to end up asking “How does this relate at all?” but this one tiny segment stuck out to me and has been on my mind ever since.
OK, so there’s a point in the story where the main character Greg is talking to another character named Rachel. He’s kinda rambling at this point, talking about various things to fill the silence and make Rachel smile. Since the author set up the style of the book as if it were a movie script, we don’t get to read Greg’s whole pet ramble, but he ends with "I guess my point is just that, it’s weird that we have animals living in our homes. It’s just weird."
Some of you are probably looking at this quote thinking, “It’s not weird. People have had pets forever,” and you’re right. It’s been such a norm in society that our first thought is to not see the weirdness in it. But if you think about it for a while, like really think about it, it’s super weird.
Listen, you have this creature roaming around your home. It knows the ins and outs of your house, it knows your schedule, it knows where you sleep. Heck, it might even sleep next to you. It can’t talk, unless you have a mimicking parrot, but you talk to it anyway (or at least I talk to my dog. She’s very good at keeping secrets).
Your pet has its own schedule and agenda, that maybe you don’t realize, but they have it. For example, my dog wakes up around 12 a.m. and strolls around the house. Why does she do this? I have no freaking clue. Maybe she’s guarding our kitchen, or talking to some super natural spirits. Who knows. What I do know is that it happens every night.
A friend of mine has two cats, and guess what? They pay attention to her bathroom schedule. Why? Because when she goes in there they know that if they hang around the sink she’ll turn it on for them. They literally have a bathroom sink agenda and without second guessing it, my friend has accepted this into her life.
The human and pet relationship has evolved to the point where we dress these animals up, we create social media for them, we celebrate their birthdays and even accept the fact that sometimes they watch us go to the bathroom.
When you think about it for as long as I have, it’s weird. Maybe even bizarre, especially to those out there who aren’t fans of pets.
However, as odd it may seem from my existential crisis perspective, it’s also amazing. Pets are family members. They’re best friends and also great support systems. They can protect you, assist you and bring you joy. You took on the responsibility of taking care of them, feeding them, sheltering them and most importantly loving them. In return, they love you back selflessly.
It’s an odd, yet wonderful norm that has brought on a lot of greatness. And hey, at the end of the day, maybe our pets are looking at us and thinking we’re the weird ones.
