Animals

I like animals. Not only am I big fan of the cute and fuzzy talking Disney creations, but I also like real animals as well. I've seen sea turtles out in the wild and it was the most amazing experience of my life. I like going to zoos. I'm so grateful that my Heavenly Father has provided such amazing and diverse animals for us, his children, to enjoy.

I also really like shelters that keep animals outside. Yes I like animals, but I don't like them near me. And truthfully I'm not too keen on reptiles, they freak me out more than a little, and I really think that this world could do without snakes.

If you don't have pets and never want to get pets or be in houses with pets people automatically equate this fact with you being an evil person. The fact that I do not want a pet and think its gross to have them in my house does not make me a bad person. I personally just think that animals are not clean, and don't like petting or sitting on furniture that people's pets have occupied. In fact, I feel an almost desperate need to immediately take a shower and wash my clothes after doing so. I don't understand why people let their dogs or cats sit on the couch, let alone sleep in their bed with them. I don't equate these pet policies with the pet owner being evil though, but the pet owner, when they find out I'm not particularly fond of "Sparky" or "Fluffy," tends to assume that I am a horrible person.

Because pet owners seem to make up the vast majority of society, and people do not take kindly to me when they discover my views about animals, I have taken to hiding my views about pets from most people. Sometimes I feel like I'm hiding some horribly grotesque secret, and yet its not. Its perfectly normal and its not hurting anyone. I'll still pet your dog and even let you cat climb into my lap while I'm over at your house, but I'm completely outside of my comfort zone when I do this.

One thing that I absolutely cannot abide is when people treat their pets (it seems to happen more often with dogs than other types of animals) as children. Its a sickening and grotesque practice. That is way more disturbing than my desire to keep pets outside. I think that pets are good for people who are lonely and need a friend and a companion or even someone to look after. But pets are not people, and they should not be treated as such.

As I am now revealing my true feelings, it should also be said that inspirational animal posters are not cute or inspiring. On the contrary they are creepy. A while back, my coworker knew I was having a bad day, (and obviously not having shared with her my views about animals) she sent me a picture of a cat to cheer me up. I've provided the link (here: http://www.roflcat.com/i-eated-a-butter-cat.php) so that you will be able to see why I was disturbed, rather than comforted (although this picture is doubly disturbing because of the bad grammar.) Her misguided attempt to cheer me up did not go unappreciated though because I did find it sweet of her to trying to make a bad day better.

I just want people to know that I am not an animal hater..(I'm just an animal-avoider)...Just to prove that I am not an animal hater I will provide a more extensive list of animals I like:

-Animal from the Muppets (although truthfully, not my favorite Muppet, far from it).

-animal crackers

-stuffed animals (the toys not the taxidermied kind)

-'Animal' the song by Neon Trees

See, I'm not a hater, I just am extremely picky in what I like.