

"Humanization" is fueling explosive (and weird) growth in the pet industry - theoneill
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/magazine/13pets-t.html?em&ex=1215835200&en=fad6f7111244cfb4&ei=5070

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Locke
This is a pretty long article. The title here makes it sound like a business
article, but it doesn't really strike me as such.

At the heart of the article is the philosophic question: Do animals think in
the way humans do? Do they feel not only fear but anxiety? Do they reason? Or,
are they thoughtless automatons, acting on instincts and learned behavior
alone?

Turns out a lot of big pharma companies are developing doggy equivalents of a
lot of human drugs like prozac and friends. Vets are prescribing medications
for separation anxiety and other behavioral problems that were once addressed
soley with training (or euthanasia).

If human drugs work the same way in animals, what does that say out about an
animal's capacity to think and feel?

Or, turn it on it's head: If unwanted behavior is seen more often in animals
that are in "unnatural" environments (for example, a horse left in a tiny
stall all day, as opposed to horses in the wild), and we "fix" those animals
with the same drugs we prescribe humans, what does that say about us?

Do we need drugs strictly because we lead unhealthy lifestyles?

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joeter
I always thought it was that funny that animals have humane societies.

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Tichy
Wow, an 8 page NYT article that didn't bore me. Well done.

