Pets vs Humans Options

[queen]

this may turn into a debate topic, but for now, i think it's better suited in the lounge.

we all know people with pets, and some of us may have pets of our own. my question to you: is your pet more important than the life of a human, say like your neighbor who lives down the street?

of course i wouldn't expect you to compare your pet/s with a family member, because to some of us, pets are members of the family. but let's say you had to choose between funding a starving child on the other side of the planet vs financing your terminally ill pet's surgery, which would you choose?

i was browsing xanga, and one of the front page posts caught my attention. it was about a dog who had undergone $13g worth of surgery only to die the next day. the blogger questioned the morality in spending that amount of money on a dog, when s/he could've nourished 100+ children in a thirdworld country for a year.

personally, i would fund any surgery my dog would need. he's just that important to me.

[MissHygienic]

Yeah, I know, and I doubt the people thought of starving children in third world countries when their dog was dying. But just that situation alone would make me pick the child.

This isn't really so much a morality issue, it's what we think is the best choice at the time. Humans thrive on self-interest, so it's not like we can expect others to think of other people all of the time.