6 quotes

Pet Cemetery

“Here then is a book that explores the cross-species relationship in all its ramifications. No longer are pets seen as one kind of thing and people as another, and no longer are pets studied in a vastly different way than people are studied. We belong together, our species and theirs. We should be viewed together. And in this book, we are.”

Beck, Alan and Aaron Katcher. Between Pets and People. West Lafayette: Purdue UP, 1996.

I chose this quote because it basically states what I want to accomplish with my art.

“The name of the animal is linked to the owner in the same way that a snapshot is. Jay Ruby, an anthropologist who studied the logic of home photography, noted that family photographs are rarely meaningful in themselves. Instead they are used as keys to family narratives: ‘That was when Uncle Tom visited us just before Vera got married, and we were eating on the terrace just after coming back from the wedding rehearsal,’ or ‘That’s Mother outside of the cathedral Amiens with the hat she got at the outdoor market that morning.’ The pet’s name and the home photograph are linked to us by specific associations, while human names are linked to us by general associations.”

Beck, Alan and Aaron Katcher. Between Pets and People. West Lafayette: Purdue UP, 1996.

I thought it was interesting that photography and the snapshot were referenced in a book on pet keeping.

“Surely the most important role our pets play in our lives is that they love us. No person is too old or ugly or poor or disabled to win the love of a pet- they love us uncritically and without reserve… Not surprisingly, many of us admit our pets into the most intimate areas of our lives. We are not in the least embarrassed when a dog sees us in the shower or overhears an argument. In this, a companion animal provides an intimacy that exceeds any we may experience with virtually any other human being, including our spouses and children; the intimacy is on a par with that of mother and newborn infant, or of our skins. A dear friend once expressed this feeling beautifully. Se had been resting on her couch with her dog, and as she looked into his eyes, it seemed to her that she and he could give each other transfusions if necessary, that their very blood must be compatible.”

Beck, Alan and Aaron Katcher. Between Pets and People. West Lafayette: Purdue UP, 1996.

The fact that a your pet could be your most intimate relationship is a startling statement at first but if you really think about it makes some sense. Even with our closest family members we usually aren’t comfortable revealing embarrassing things about ourselves but with our pets, it doesn’t even seem to phase us. Is it the only relationship that can truly be nonjudgmental?

“What I have discovered is that the history of pet keeping is an integral part of the history of everyday life in the United States. It is connected to changing ideas about human nature, emotional life, individual responsibility, and our society’s obligations to all kinds of dependent others, including people. Pet keeping is an important part of the history of childhood in America, and it speaks to evolving ideas about the proper roles of men and women and the historical characteristics of the modern American middle classes.”

Grier, Katherine C.. Pets In America. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006.

There is a significant history to pet keeping, which is worth exploring. The changes in our attitudes and actions towards pets over the centuries do say something about our society. It does reveal a lot about our class, gender roles, community, industrial and commercial development, and capitalist/consumer society. It’s even a part of the story of government, public health, and philanthropy.

“ The psychologist Damon, states that in societies where the family has been
eroded by mobility, ‘friendship replaces kinship in establishing relations between persons based on positive feeling, trust and other non-tangible manifestations of
affection,’”
Serpell, James. In the Company of Animals. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996.

Perhaps we don’t stop and think about how mobility in our modern society affects us. But it makes sense that when mobility increases our kinship bonds decrease. But the need for close, trusting relationships is still present. Pets have been able to fill that void for many in an almost perfect way.

“The World Health Organization defines health as: ‘A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.’ To have a life worth living, you need to connect to those around you and contribute to their lives. This is where the Bond plays such a crucial role. At a time when psychology, sociology, and politics have sucked the spontaneity out of human relations, the simplicity of our affection with pets is a model for the smaller, intimate moments that really sustain us. Without those ties that bind—the bonds of love, friendship, responsibility, and dependence—we gradually begin to wither away. It is our bonds that keep us healthy . . .”

Becker, Marty. The Healing Power of Pets. New York: Hyperion, 2002.

This reiterates how important relationships are to our health.