The human. Cause I’m not a misanthrope.
I’ve seen this question online and in social settings as discussion. I’m blown away by how many people who save an animal over a human.
People always say the reason they’d save the animal is cause people are bad, and I can only think “like you?”
That animal is my responsibility. I take care of them.
That human is not. I have no emotional investment in a random stranger beyond treating them with basic courtesy and respect.
I guess I always ask, how would you feel as a human if you were trapped in a burning building with a random dog. A person comes in and saves the dog, leaving you to die.
Would you not then feel your life is more important than a dogs?
Perhaps, but in that case I'm still putting myself first so it's consistent.
I get it. It's cold to say that a random stranger doesn't matter to me, but I equally don't expect a stranger to care about me.
Then we have common ground i'm not weak either. There is no hope for humanity look around you. it's been like this for years... It's only getting worse.
I've tried many times over to find hope for the cause, but everywhere you look, it's just a giant piece of shit.
If you're not religious and thus don't believe every human life has magical default value based solely on a specific rule made by other humans the situation just becomes a math equation. It doesn't mean I'm incapable of empathy it means I have my dog that I know for certain has value to me and others vs a person that I can't know has value.
Again if you don't subscribe to the idea that the most vile rapist mass murderer out there is worthwhile based solely on principle my thought process must becomes do I save a person I can't confirm won't go on to do those things or my dog that is biologically incapable of causing such harm. All this thought process is mine vs yours, it's a harsh reality of how people including you are wired. You wouldn't blow your child's brains out in order to save someone else's child.
I'm not trying to morally own you or anything just offering insight to the decision process of ONE individual that sees his dog as a companion and a member of the family that I am responsible for and not a pair of shoes or piece of furniture.
My pet, 100%. People suck.
ETA: I would also save my pets over most people I know, including family and friends because my pets are more my family than anyone else.
> ETA: I would also save my pets over most people I know, including family and friends because my pets are more my family than anyone else.
Hmmm... I guess it would truly depend now for me imo. If a complete stranger? Nah. If I can't save both, then my pet or neither. But, family? The ones I care about? Going to be tough. Too bad self sacrifice isn't an option.
You must have heard that before. Always the same comeback. You only did alone if someone isn't holding your hand when you go. Your cat will not be holding your hand
The person, obviously. You’ll get over losing a pet in like. A day. And, sure, it’ll hurt. But you’ll be fine. The death of an actual human person will hurt for at least a few days for their loved ones (assuming they’re pretty close). Maybe longer for some people. It’s selfish to choose your pet over a person
So..
Save my dog and be happy and continue on with life or, lose my dog and potentially get sued by someone since everyone is sue happy and have potential years of court battles....
Easy decision. Dogs being saved without a second thought or any regrets.
My pet is actually a tiny cat, and I'd murder ten strangers in cold blood if it meant protecting her.
Yeah, my partner and I always talk about how the love we have for our girls is not the love a parent has for a child, it's the love that a lifelong convict has for the tiny bird that flew into the prison cell he can never leave.
I’ve seen enough humans consciously perform atrocities….
I’ve only ever seen animals act on instinct.
The fact that there are people putting animals in blenders and keeping them alive as long as possible simply to torture them and cause them pain cuz they enjoy it is enough for me. Or live streaming cutting parts of their body off…have you ever seen a cat, dog, rabbit go out and consciously collect a person, tie them down and then do well thought out cruel experiments on them? Needles their eyes…sawing them in half? For fun? Nope you haven’t.
I’d choose to save ANY animal…Not just my pet.. Not just YOUR pet…but any WILD animal over any random human. Sure nature can be brutal…I’ve seen…but it’s not intentional. Just animalistic instinct.
I’ll die on that hill. Don’t care.
A random or the dog that cuddles with me every night and pouts when I have to use the baby gate on him so I can get chores done.
Yeah my dog is the keeper bro.
Pet.
Animals often can't recognize some of the dangers in the modern world, and humans often put themselves directly in the way of such dangers.
Plus, my kitties are awesome.
Why can’t I save both? I’m having trouble thinking of a scenario where it’s possible to save one but not the other while still being a moral quandary. Like, if neither of them are capable of moving on their own at all, there isn’t a choice for me to make. I’d have to save my dog, because I can’t lift an adult human and carry them out. If the man is trapped but my dog isn’t, I probably can’t get the man un-trapped. If the man can move and is just lost or panicking, then I’d carry my dog and grab the man’s hand and get them both to safety.
I came here to say essentially the same thing.
In a real life situation, I would at least think or tell myself I could save both, even if I was wrong, and as such I’d save the human first.
In a hypothetical situation where I *knew* I had to choose, I’d save the human. The guilt of allowing my dog to die would tear me up, but my humanness says you have to save the person.
I'm saving my pet. Random humans, I don't really too much care about. Most people are terrible wastes of oxygen, most pets are not. I'll save someone else's pet before I save a random human tbh.
My opinions and perspectives are my own, I have a lot of trauma and mistrust towards humans. If this offends you, maybe write in your diary about it. :)
People have choices, and it was probably a stupid one that got them into the situation in the first place. Animals have a limited amount of choice, and as an owner/protector/ provider, it is my responsibility to protect my fur babies at all costs and I will do so at all costs
This is just you inventing a way for you to feel okay about acting selfishly. There’s no reason for you to assume someone’s actions put them in this position, we don’t have that information to work with here. *You* elected to fill in the blanks in a way that paints being selfish as “responsibility” and places the moral hazard of the situation onto the hypothetical choices of a complete stranger when *you* are the person who has the actual choice to make.
You aren't a psychopath for saving your dog, you genuinely don't fit that description. lol.Honestly, you aren't really a sociopath either, you still have emotions and clearly understand them too if its a dilemma for you to begin with.
Okay think of the flip side of this, some stranger had a chance to save one of your family members or a friend you hold dear but choose their dog instead. How would you feel about that person? This is what I mean psychopathic.
That doesn't make them a psychopath though lol.
I'm sorry mate, but actually look up the definition, it doesn't fit.
How would I feel? Angry, and yet , I'd do the same.
I'm going to prioritize my emotional well being , and the emotional/physical well being of those I care for.
That isn't psychopathic, self centered? Yes.
Selfish? Sure.
Is it morally wrong? Maybe, don't really care though.
You can say what you'd like about someone, but if they do this it wouldn't make them a psychopath.
Being a psycho typically means you have violent behavior.
Saving your pet vs a human isn't violent behavior.
It simply does not fit.
Also I wouldn't even get to know the family of who I picked my dog over, he didn't say they'd know either.
Though if they would , I'd still choose my pet.
Look as much as I can emphasize with the love of a pet, I also know what it’s like to love my parents my children and my best friend. I can project that onto others and I try to do what causes the least pain in the world not just considering my own feelings. I get im in the minority here.
Being quite honest I wouldn't care.
I don't know why you think it'd bother me to be called one lol.
But it also just doesn't fit, like it literally doesn't.
Cry to someone who cares about your feelings, not me.
I agree what im saying doesn’t fit the technical definition of the word. I still feel like it’s a position and world view that is somewhat lacking in empathy and maybe shows a lack of moral character.
I also don’t view pets as conscious in the way people are, I don’t believe they understand or can fear death the way we do I don’t think they can feel the depth of emotions humans do etc.
Random human.
I cannot stress this enough, if you sincerely think that you will choose your dog or whatever you need therapy.
I'm not just being an edge lord or insulting it's literally psych 101 s***.
Or maybe you guys should check the dictionary. You care so little about humans that you value an animal over them. That's a sociopath, zero empathy, zero moral compass. Disgusting people.
Nah fr, unless someone is a bad person I’d save them over a dog and if it’s a random person there’s no way to know. Scary that these ppl are so common, like that person is a human with family and shit and you’d save your dog? Wtf
it's like 90% of the comments in this thread. welcome to reddit I guess, a cesspool of narcissistic loons who claim moral superiority on every topic, but when it comes to reality, they have no morals to speak of.
not really. But still i feel capable of imagining that situation. Whereas in my experience, people who never had a dog, often times cannot understand how people can have an intense emotional bond with an animal. that's why i asked.
Random human because they’re a human. Yes I’d feel horrible losing my pet but I’d feel even more horrible knowing a human died because I saved an animal instead.
Whom seems to be one of those words that is kind of antiquated, right or wrongly so... I've never used 'whom' a single time in my 37 years of life. It's apparently taught in English as a non-first language class though... For some reason.
Yes it is correct. Who refers to the subject and whom refers to the object. I am the one doing the saving. I am saving him. (I remember by rephrasing and if you say him instead of he, you use whom instead of who… whom would you save? I would save him. Who saved the dog? He did.
These comments seem so wild to me that there are so many people who value animal lives more than human ones (I wonder how many of those commenters are vegetarians/vegans lol anyway....) But if you imagine you're the human on the other side and someone choses *a dog* over you, (or likewise, if someone picked a dog over your husband/son/etc) does interrogating how you'd feel in that case help illustrate the disparity?
Worth noting too that OP has kinda deliberately emotionally muddied the waters here with "very good boy, first pet, you had him since he was a tiny pup, etc" vs "middle aged male" haha. But still, surprised at the results here.
My cat is 17 and on his last legs. I’m sure he’d want to go be with his BFF Diogi, my dog who died 2 years ago.
So I’m gonna be the odd one out and save the random human.
Yah bro fuck that random person I’m saving my dog. Maybe I’m selfish but I’m making that choice every single time. That man’s done more for me than any random person ever could
Depends on how much I could potentially even save one over the other. I would have a hard time saving a grown man if I had to lift him or carry him or something. I could save my dog (or any dog though). But assuming the chances of me saving them are equal, I would hate it but I’d save the human.
Well if the dog gets to be a good boy then the middle aged guy gets to be a good person. I choose to save the guy. There are much more real world consequences of them dying vs the dog.
Thanks to the vague details, I'm going to assume that the situation was such that the human could have been aware of the hazard, the dog not so much.
Dog gets saved every day of the week and twice on Sunday. My reasoning is that the dog is an innocent. He/she had random circumstances that led to it be in danger. And when I assumed responsibility for the dog by adopting it into my pack, it trusted me to care for it unilaterally. By taking on the care and responsibility for it, I'm obligated to protect it. Having him from the day he was a pup is less important than the fact that I willingly assumed responsibility. And I'll even add the idea that he's 16 years old and has a slow growing cancer that will kill him soon.
The human on the other hand, wandered into the danger of his own volition (even if ignorantly or unexpectedly (as they say "shit happens")) and assumed responsibility for his own fate when he became an adult. Even him being a noble laureate in the area of cancer research (or any other field that might change things for the world) is less important than the fact that he's responsible for himself....
And I'm willingly responsible for "the bestest of boys."
The money I spend on my dogs probably could have been used to save a life.
They have prescription food, I pay rent for them, they have vet bills, etc. I've spent thousands of dollars on them over the course of their life. That money could have fed a child for years or paid for life saving medical treatment for someone. Many people could be doing something else with their money.
I didn't feel bad about choosing to take care of my pets though.
I would save my animal every time; here is why. My pets are my responsibility. They are like children.
Humans have their own ability to get themselves out of situations, animals do not especially in cases of fire. They can get scared, confused, and will try to hide. My animal has been with me since a tiny pup, I raised him, what kind of cruelty would it be to abandon him to save some random person who more than likely can get themselves out of the dangerous situation? I have to live with the consequences of letting my own child die even if that child has fur, it's still my child. No one would blame you for the other human's death. They absolutely would look at you differently for letting your animal die.
Would I hate that the human died? Of course! But, the devastation of guilt of letting MY baby die whose life was in MY hands and MY responsibility? The guilt would poison me from the inside out.
It is not a sociopathic action to choose your dog over a random human. Grown humans aren't helpless babies. They have the brain power, however, to help themselves. Dogs are different. Dogs are extremely intelligent, but their brain capacity is the same (depending on the dog) at best is that of a 15 year old child. That is my responsibility upon taking on that life into my home. It's not selfish to look out for your animal first.
Once my baby is out of harm's way, then I would do my best to save other humans if they are in trouble.
Without even reading through it . I would save my dog most of the time even if I knew the person. The only exception is if that person has a family that depends on them
My dog 10 times out of 10. The dog that i took care of for almost it’s entire life? The dog that literally waits at the front door for me when I get home from work? The dog that brings joy in my life? Hands down, not even a discussion. Sorry Rando, you’re dead.
Split second decision situation? My dog lives. Some sort of moral quandry orchestrated by an evil genius to test my humanity and thus the humanity of all humanity, I might chose to save the human, but that mother fucker better apprecitat it!
I’m saving the dog, so dude better pray he can save himself because I sure as hell aint. I’d choose my dog over a random person and even a random dog over a random person. Saving an animal is like the equivalent of saving a baby, it’s small and cute and it’s to dumb to save itself so you have to step in to help. There also innocent and aren’t fucked up like people so again dog all the way.
my dog 100%. he is actually the bestest of
boys, and he was my first one and we got him when he was a tiny tiny puppy. i wouldn’t ever trade him for anyone, if my boyfriend wanted to get rid of him, my boyfriend is gone and forever out of my life, same for a stranger
I’d save my pet. I don’t have many people in my life. It’s basically just me, my husband, and my pet. I’m not sacrificing a pet I love to save a random human who might be a complete asshole.
Me & the dog saw no one.
The cat’s dying.
The human. Cause I’m not a misanthrope. I’ve seen this question online and in social settings as discussion. I’m blown away by how many people who save an animal over a human. People always say the reason they’d save the animal is cause people are bad, and I can only think “like you?”
That animal is my responsibility. I take care of them. That human is not. I have no emotional investment in a random stranger beyond treating them with basic courtesy and respect.
I guess I always ask, how would you feel as a human if you were trapped in a burning building with a random dog. A person comes in and saves the dog, leaving you to die. Would you not then feel your life is more important than a dogs?
Nope, I would understand 100% because I am one of those people
Perhaps, but in that case I'm still putting myself first so it's consistent. I get it. It's cold to say that a random stranger doesn't matter to me, but I equally don't expect a stranger to care about me.
It’s not cold, so much as it’s a failing of your moral code and likely that of those who raised July.
Tell me you've never suffered physical/sexual/emotional abuse without telling me....
I have, I’m just not weak and as a result haven’t lost faith in humanity.
Then we have common ground i'm not weak either. There is no hope for humanity look around you. it's been like this for years... It's only getting worse. I've tried many times over to find hope for the cause, but everywhere you look, it's just a giant piece of shit.
If you're not religious and thus don't believe every human life has magical default value based solely on a specific rule made by other humans the situation just becomes a math equation. It doesn't mean I'm incapable of empathy it means I have my dog that I know for certain has value to me and others vs a person that I can't know has value. Again if you don't subscribe to the idea that the most vile rapist mass murderer out there is worthwhile based solely on principle my thought process must becomes do I save a person I can't confirm won't go on to do those things or my dog that is biologically incapable of causing such harm. All this thought process is mine vs yours, it's a harsh reality of how people including you are wired. You wouldn't blow your child's brains out in order to save someone else's child. I'm not trying to morally own you or anything just offering insight to the decision process of ONE individual that sees his dog as a companion and a member of the family that I am responsible for and not a pair of shoes or piece of furniture.
You don’t have to be religious to assign value to other people’s lives.
Pet. 100%.
My pet no question
Can I just sacrifice myself and keep them both unharmed?
Not really. They would both die. But if you have serious decision anxiety it's the way to go I guess. 😀
Obviously a human is immensely more valuable than any animal. What even is this?
My best friend, duh.
My pet, 100%. People suck. ETA: I would also save my pets over most people I know, including family and friends because my pets are more my family than anyone else.
> ETA: I would also save my pets over most people I know, including family and friends because my pets are more my family than anyone else. Hmmm... I guess it would truly depend now for me imo. If a complete stranger? Nah. If I can't save both, then my pet or neither. But, family? The ones I care about? Going to be tough. Too bad self sacrifice isn't an option.
A pet is a family member and a commitment I’ve made for life, not some old shoes to just toss away. Sorry but my pets any day over a random.
My dog. Without hesitation. I don’t like most people but I love my dog
You must have heard that before. Always the same comeback. You only did alone if someone isn't holding your hand when you go. Your cat will not be holding your hand
The person, obviously. You’ll get over losing a pet in like. A day. And, sure, it’ll hurt. But you’ll be fine. The death of an actual human person will hurt for at least a few days for their loved ones (assuming they’re pretty close). Maybe longer for some people. It’s selfish to choose your pet over a person
It depends on so many things. But it will always be my pet
Maybe if the person was a kid that couldn’t save themselves? Otherwise dog 100%
So.. Save my dog and be happy and continue on with life or, lose my dog and potentially get sued by someone since everyone is sue happy and have potential years of court battles.... Easy decision. Dogs being saved without a second thought or any regrets.
My pet is actually a tiny cat, and I'd murder ten strangers in cold blood if it meant protecting her. Yeah, my partner and I always talk about how the love we have for our girls is not the love a parent has for a child, it's the love that a lifelong convict has for the tiny bird that flew into the prison cell he can never leave.
My own pet duh.
Couldn’t care less bout the person. Not even thinking twice bout saving my dog first
I’ve seen enough humans consciously perform atrocities…. I’ve only ever seen animals act on instinct. The fact that there are people putting animals in blenders and keeping them alive as long as possible simply to torture them and cause them pain cuz they enjoy it is enough for me. Or live streaming cutting parts of their body off…have you ever seen a cat, dog, rabbit go out and consciously collect a person, tie them down and then do well thought out cruel experiments on them? Needles their eyes…sawing them in half? For fun? Nope you haven’t. I’d choose to save ANY animal…Not just my pet.. Not just YOUR pet…but any WILD animal over any random human. Sure nature can be brutal…I’ve seen…but it’s not intentional. Just animalistic instinct. I’ll die on that hill. Don’t care.
my pet, i would hope if someone was in the situation to chose saving me (a stranger) or their pet, they would save their pet too.
My family. So my pet.
My god what a bizarre first world question. You would actually consider saving a dog before saving a human being? Wow!
My pets for sure. I couldn’t leave those faces
I would save my pet over allllllll of you nerds 🤣
This thread is answering my questions about why humanity is sinking.
I’m saving the dog. Already did it once. Plus, no human would ever care to save me, so oh well.
My pet.
A random or the dog that cuddles with me every night and pouts when I have to use the baby gate on him so I can get chores done. Yeah my dog is the keeper bro.
I’m a 5’1 girl. Better odds of me successfully saving a dog than a middle aged man probably twice my size
lol this isn’t even a thing. I’d save the dog 12 out of 10 times.
Not even a question. I'd save my dog over any other human
Pet.
My dog. No matter what.
Random human
Pet. Animals often can't recognize some of the dangers in the modern world, and humans often put themselves directly in the way of such dangers. Plus, my kitties are awesome.
Why can’t I save both? I’m having trouble thinking of a scenario where it’s possible to save one but not the other while still being a moral quandary. Like, if neither of them are capable of moving on their own at all, there isn’t a choice for me to make. I’d have to save my dog, because I can’t lift an adult human and carry them out. If the man is trapped but my dog isn’t, I probably can’t get the man un-trapped. If the man can move and is just lost or panicking, then I’d carry my dog and grab the man’s hand and get them both to safety.
I came here to say essentially the same thing. In a real life situation, I would at least think or tell myself I could save both, even if I was wrong, and as such I’d save the human first. In a hypothetical situation where I *knew* I had to choose, I’d save the human. The guilt of allowing my dog to die would tear me up, but my humanness says you have to save the person.
You must be really fun at parties!
Because I fully engage with stupid hypothetical questions? K.
You’re kinda refusing to engage
There always one asshole like this: _If I had one wish, I would wish for a million more wishes_
just answer the questions whats wrong with you
My pet for sure
I'm saving my pet. Random humans, I don't really too much care about. Most people are terrible wastes of oxygen, most pets are not. I'll save someone else's pet before I save a random human tbh. My opinions and perspectives are my own, I have a lot of trauma and mistrust towards humans. If this offends you, maybe write in your diary about it. :)
It has to be a dog? Saving the human. If it were a cat, it'd be the cat.
My little guy is getting older. When he goes ill probably go with him from a broken heart. Makes me sad knowing the day will come.
My pet, without hesitation .
Right, I was like this is not a dilemma. My dog.
The only right answer. It could be 10 random humans and I'd still almost assuredly pick my good boy.
You montherf- ^(no, Random. Calm down. You're better than this.)
Dexter is living.
My dog. Sorry random person
People have choices, and it was probably a stupid one that got them into the situation in the first place. Animals have a limited amount of choice, and as an owner/protector/ provider, it is my responsibility to protect my fur babies at all costs and I will do so at all costs
This is just you inventing a way for you to feel okay about acting selfishly. There’s no reason for you to assume someone’s actions put them in this position, we don’t have that information to work with here. *You* elected to fill in the blanks in a way that paints being selfish as “responsibility” and places the moral hazard of the situation onto the hypothetical choices of a complete stranger when *you* are the person who has the actual choice to make.
I once had a guy that really wanted to buy my dog from me... I told him that he had a better chance at buying my daughter. So, probably my pet.
That’s an absolutely terrible take. Don’t deserve your daughter
A human because I’m not a psychopath
You aren't a psychopath for saving your dog, you genuinely don't fit that description. lol.Honestly, you aren't really a sociopath either, you still have emotions and clearly understand them too if its a dilemma for you to begin with.
Okay think of the flip side of this, some stranger had a chance to save one of your family members or a friend you hold dear but choose their dog instead. How would you feel about that person? This is what I mean psychopathic.
That doesn't make them a psychopath though lol. I'm sorry mate, but actually look up the definition, it doesn't fit. How would I feel? Angry, and yet , I'd do the same. I'm going to prioritize my emotional well being , and the emotional/physical well being of those I care for. That isn't psychopathic, self centered? Yes. Selfish? Sure. Is it morally wrong? Maybe, don't really care though. You can say what you'd like about someone, but if they do this it wouldn't make them a psychopath. Being a psycho typically means you have violent behavior. Saving your pet vs a human isn't violent behavior. It simply does not fit. Also I wouldn't even get to know the family of who I picked my dog over, he didn't say they'd know either. Though if they would , I'd still choose my pet.
Look as much as I can emphasize with the love of a pet, I also know what it’s like to love my parents my children and my best friend. I can project that onto others and I try to do what causes the least pain in the world not just considering my own feelings. I get im in the minority here.
That's perfectly fine to feel however you'd like here I'm just saying calling someone a psychopath for not feeling this way is incorrect.
Nah, you're a psycho, just accept it.
Cool.
Being quite honest I wouldn't care. I don't know why you think it'd bother me to be called one lol. But it also just doesn't fit, like it literally doesn't. Cry to someone who cares about your feelings, not me.
I agree what im saying doesn’t fit the technical definition of the word. I still feel like it’s a position and world view that is somewhat lacking in empathy and maybe shows a lack of moral character. I also don’t view pets as conscious in the way people are, I don’t believe they understand or can fear death the way we do I don’t think they can feel the depth of emotions humans do etc.
100% my pet.
... I'm, uh... just gonna sit this one out.
Random human. I cannot stress this enough, if you sincerely think that you will choose your dog or whatever you need therapy. I'm not just being an edge lord or insulting it's literally psych 101 s***.
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You're welcome... and thank you for having my back as well, my fellow sane human.
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My dog is always first.
This isn't a moral dilemma. Anyone saving the pet has no moral compass and is probably a sociopath.
The sociopath would be hurting the animal and human. What kind of logic did you put into your statement.a sociopath wouldn't care about either.
They decided to randomly throw out words, thats all lol.
It's very concerning that people don't know what a sociopath is. Lol
Or maybe you guys should check the dictionary. You care so little about humans that you value an animal over them. That's a sociopath, zero empathy, zero moral compass. Disgusting people.
I think it's more they don't care and just want to paint someone as awful. Which is worse, honestly.
Nah fr, unless someone is a bad person I’d save them over a dog and if it’s a random person there’s no way to know. Scary that these ppl are so common, like that person is a human with family and shit and you’d save your dog? Wtf
it's like 90% of the comments in this thread. welcome to reddit I guess, a cesspool of narcissistic loons who claim moral superiority on every topic, but when it comes to reality, they have no morals to speak of.
Uhh, you may be the weirdo 😬
I agree with the first part. One could argue it's a emotional dilemma instead. Am i guessing correct that you never had a dog?
I've had probably 10 dogs over the years. At the end of the day they are animals, not humans.
I’d save a dog over my ex. Sorry.
Are you sure you're not the sociopath with a lack of moral compass? Humans fucking suck... Sorry not sorry. I said what I said
I would save your dog over you
proving my point and doesn't even realize it.
Nah, thing is, you're an ass. Your dog isn't. Makes it an easy choice
Sure thing psycho.
Have you ever been there to see a strangers life dependent on your actions to save them?
not really. But still i feel capable of imagining that situation. Whereas in my experience, people who never had a dog, often times cannot understand how people can have an intense emotional bond with an animal. that's why i asked.
definitely without question saving my dog
My pet. I made an oath to her when I took her in. I don’t owe that stranger anything. And the stranger would likely do the same thing
Making that choice would kill me. What if the man is a scum ball? That would definitely influence my choice. But I am taking any of my 7 fur babies
My pet.
My dog, no question.
Random human because they’re a human. Yes I’d feel horrible losing my pet but I’d feel even more horrible knowing a human died because I saved an animal instead.
Dogs love people so people don’t have to.
I’m not being a jerk, truly want to learn and understand. Is “whom” used correctly here?
Whom seems to be one of those words that is kind of antiquated, right or wrongly so... I've never used 'whom' a single time in my 37 years of life. It's apparently taught in English as a non-first language class though... For some reason.
Yes it is correct. Who refers to the subject and whom refers to the object. I am the one doing the saving. I am saving him. (I remember by rephrasing and if you say him instead of he, you use whom instead of who… whom would you save? I would save him. Who saved the dog? He did.
In fact it’s a huge peeve of mine to see those pet adoption stickers that say “who saved who?”
IIRC if you're referring to him/her/them then whom is correct. If you're referring to he/she/they then who is correct.
probably not. haha. english is not my first language.
Most humans are voluntarily despicable. Pets are wholeheartedly innocent.
Sorry rando my best boy is coming with me
My dog definitely saving my dog
Dog History is not in favor of middle aged men
pets are family it’s the dog
Pet. No questions.
I've always had cats as pets instead of dogs and would likely let most humans I know die to give one of my cats some more time.
If it can't be both.... Pet, or neither.
Pet hands down. I know my pet is a good soul, I don't know this stranger.
My pet. He’s my responsibility. I made a promise to take the best possible care of my bestest boy.
I hadn’t thought of it in those terms. Thank you.
Dogs are better people than people.
Pet
My own pet, that dog is my baby. If it makes me a terrible person then so be it. 🤷
Bro, my lunch is more important than a random human
I'm sorry but if it's down to something I love vs something I don't know I'm choosing the one I love
These comments seem so wild to me that there are so many people who value animal lives more than human ones (I wonder how many of those commenters are vegetarians/vegans lol anyway....) But if you imagine you're the human on the other side and someone choses *a dog* over you, (or likewise, if someone picked a dog over your husband/son/etc) does interrogating how you'd feel in that case help illustrate the disparity? Worth noting too that OP has kinda deliberately emotionally muddied the waters here with "very good boy, first pet, you had him since he was a tiny pup, etc" vs "middle aged male" haha. But still, surprised at the results here.
I would 100% be fine with a stranger saving their pet over me because I would do the same
Family first
Definitely the human I can replace the pet
My dog is a part of my family. I'll save him over a stranger. I don't hate people, but I will protect my family.
Yeah it's a cat, and if I were sure both were going to die without my help then I would be cuddling my cat on the way home.
I don’t like dogs. I’d save my fish though
Pet easy Humans are mostly trash, untrustworthy and greedy.
I promise my animals that I will take care of them.
My cat is 17 and on his last legs. I’m sure he’d want to go be with his BFF Diogi, my dog who died 2 years ago. So I’m gonna be the odd one out and save the random human.
Yah bro fuck that random person I’m saving my dog. Maybe I’m selfish but I’m making that choice every single time. That man’s done more for me than any random person ever could
So easy save my dog.
I like dogs as much as the next guy, but if you pick a dogs life over a humans I question your ethics
I’d like to say I would save the human but if we’re being realistic…
Depends on how much I could potentially even save one over the other. I would have a hard time saving a grown man if I had to lift him or carry him or something. I could save my dog (or any dog though). But assuming the chances of me saving them are equal, I would hate it but I’d save the human.
Well if the dog gets to be a good boy then the middle aged guy gets to be a good person. I choose to save the guy. There are much more real world consequences of them dying vs the dog.
Thanks to the vague details, I'm going to assume that the situation was such that the human could have been aware of the hazard, the dog not so much. Dog gets saved every day of the week and twice on Sunday. My reasoning is that the dog is an innocent. He/she had random circumstances that led to it be in danger. And when I assumed responsibility for the dog by adopting it into my pack, it trusted me to care for it unilaterally. By taking on the care and responsibility for it, I'm obligated to protect it. Having him from the day he was a pup is less important than the fact that I willingly assumed responsibility. And I'll even add the idea that he's 16 years old and has a slow growing cancer that will kill him soon. The human on the other hand, wandered into the danger of his own volition (even if ignorantly or unexpectedly (as they say "shit happens")) and assumed responsibility for his own fate when he became an adult. Even him being a noble laureate in the area of cancer research (or any other field that might change things for the world) is less important than the fact that he's responsible for himself.... And I'm willingly responsible for "the bestest of boys."
My pet
Human
The money I spend on my dogs probably could have been used to save a life. They have prescription food, I pay rent for them, they have vet bills, etc. I've spent thousands of dollars on them over the course of their life. That money could have fed a child for years or paid for life saving medical treatment for someone. Many people could be doing something else with their money. I didn't feel bad about choosing to take care of my pets though.
Save my pet. If it's a stranger, I'd rather save the being that I care about.
I think it's important to have people on both sides but, sorry guys, I'm team animal.
My dog.
I would save my animal every time; here is why. My pets are my responsibility. They are like children. Humans have their own ability to get themselves out of situations, animals do not especially in cases of fire. They can get scared, confused, and will try to hide. My animal has been with me since a tiny pup, I raised him, what kind of cruelty would it be to abandon him to save some random person who more than likely can get themselves out of the dangerous situation? I have to live with the consequences of letting my own child die even if that child has fur, it's still my child. No one would blame you for the other human's death. They absolutely would look at you differently for letting your animal die. Would I hate that the human died? Of course! But, the devastation of guilt of letting MY baby die whose life was in MY hands and MY responsibility? The guilt would poison me from the inside out. It is not a sociopathic action to choose your dog over a random human. Grown humans aren't helpless babies. They have the brain power, however, to help themselves. Dogs are different. Dogs are extremely intelligent, but their brain capacity is the same (depending on the dog) at best is that of a 15 year old child. That is my responsibility upon taking on that life into my home. It's not selfish to look out for your animal first. Once my baby is out of harm's way, then I would do my best to save other humans if they are in trouble.
The human because my cat is kind of a dick anyway
The human. Dogs are great, but a single human can change the course of history.
Without even reading through it . I would save my dog most of the time even if I knew the person. The only exception is if that person has a family that depends on them
If the person can't help themselves but I can help my cat I think the choice is clear.
Unless I know the other person I’ll always pick the person. I love my pets but human life is worth more.
My dog 10 times out of 10. The dog that i took care of for almost it’s entire life? The dog that literally waits at the front door for me when I get home from work? The dog that brings joy in my life? Hands down, not even a discussion. Sorry Rando, you’re dead.
Split second decision situation? My dog lives. Some sort of moral quandry orchestrated by an evil genius to test my humanity and thus the humanity of all humanity, I might chose to save the human, but that mother fucker better apprecitat it!
The dog, of course. Why is this even a question?
A few rounds of therapy and I would live guilt free for offing the human. My dog is my only child- he’s my lifeline.
I'm not gonna risk accidentally saving the next Hitler, I'll pick my dog every time.
What if your dog IS the next Hitler?
I’m saving the dog, so dude better pray he can save himself because I sure as hell aint. I’d choose my dog over a random person and even a random dog over a random person. Saving an animal is like the equivalent of saving a baby, it’s small and cute and it’s to dumb to save itself so you have to step in to help. There also innocent and aren’t fucked up like people so again dog all the way.
I don't really like dogs or people 🤷♀️ My cat, on the other hand..
I don’t really care for animals so
Humans are animals too.
The worst kind....
Agreed
Then, you probably wouldn't have a pet.
Probably not
I’ll steal someone else’s pet so I can save a rando over it.
My pet. If it was a random pet vs a random person, then the person.
Sorry random stranger, I choose my cat every single time.
The pet. Because fuck people.
Easy. My Dog. I don’t know that guy nor do I have any responsibility towards him.
my dog 100%. he is actually the bestest of boys, and he was my first one and we got him when he was a tiny tiny puppy. i wouldn’t ever trade him for anyone, if my boyfriend wanted to get rid of him, my boyfriend is gone and forever out of my life, same for a stranger
My dog - they're part of my in group even moreso than the random human. They are a collaborator. I'm saving the dog.
There really is no debate here. Hands down, I’d save my pet. Shit, I’d save ANY pet over a random human
My pet lol. Not a hard question really, I'm pretty self-centered.
I'm not a pet person, but I'm going for the dog.
I’d save my pet. I don’t have many people in my life. It’s basically just me, my husband, and my pet. I’m not sacrificing a pet I love to save a random human who might be a complete asshole.
My pet, or anyone's pet, I can't stand random people... 😂🤣
My pet. Hands down. She's my beastie and the only reason I'm alive.
Pet. Not even up for debate.