A Pet Peeve

The holiday season is well behind us, but one thing continues to rankle me. There is in such holidays as Christmas deep meaning for me. The reason for the season, as I've heard it put, is the birth of Christ, and we celebrate by following the example of the wise men and giving gifts to those we care about as well as being charitable towards our fellow men. Each holiday on the calendar has its own significance which rivals that of Christmas, and I take them seriously. Here's what bothers me: why do we go to the trouble of extending the holiday to our pets?

Every year, there I am reveling in the Yuletide spirit which I so appreciate. I've been to church and have taken the trouble to properly observe the occasion, so of course it's quite reasonable that I should both give and receive gifts as well as partake in a grand holiday meal with all the proper trappings. I'm eating it and feeling special until a holiday meal comes out for the dogs. They aren't Christian and don't know what the day is all about. They certainly have not given any of us gifts outside of a possible dead bird, which is something they can hardly be counted on to do every year. Yet it is so that they get a turkey dinner from Iams or whoever and receive gifts to boot!

Another holiday into which pets are inappropriately inserted is Halloween. Here I am more likely to be sympathetic to them, for they get nothing positive in the bargain. Once again, they are utterly ignorant of All Hallow's Eve, All Saints Day or the rest of it. In this case they do not even receive any of the candy. Why then should it be that they are humiliated by having to wear some ridiculous costume? It is entirely wasted on them, and that thing isn't free. The owner spent discretionary income on an outfit for an animal which does not even appreciate or need clothes. It certainly does not want to wear the outfit. It spends the evening trying to tug it off  and then gets scolded by its so-called loving master. What a waste that is.

I for one never have and never will force the celebration of a human holiday on any creature which lacks the mental capacity to understand and appreciate it. This reflects my respect for it as well as my appreciation for the dignity inherent in living things. From a practical standpoint, I am not left feeling like a fool for shelling out money and getting nothing to show for it but the same blank stare the animal always gives. God knows that I have dearly loved every pet I've ever had as well as those who have been close to me in some respect, but there's a limit.