Here we go...Something scary.

While I was watching Saturday Night live last evening (no, that wasn't the scary part - pretty good actually) I was exposed to a local news plug between each sketch. It opened with a cut-speed clip aged golden retriever stumbling around it's owner's home, and a voice over "Nobody likes seeing their long time companion grow old, but what if there was something we could do about this?" We then see the same old pure-bred in a full-speed clip playing with it's owner. While I muttered to myself "Hmm. Have they found a way to keep dogs healthier in old age?" right before the news anchor said "Friday: How stem cells can help keep your pets young..."

What!? Stem Cells for Dogs!?

Because of the apparently thin sponsorship of SNL, I had a chance to see this promo at least 5 more times before I fired off the Google. Aparantly, there has been influx of talk about how Stem Cells can help dogs with muscular dystrophy and the eventual benefit for people. (Like many things, I seem to have been in a cave when this first came out)

On the surface, this seems like a nice thing. Keeping rover around for a few more years is something that I would like too - i like dogs - I grew up with dog in the home. But what are we really getting at here? Putting a kinder, gentler face on something that is skewed way out of proportion. Our priorities have been replaced with those of an 8 year old upper-middle class girl. If you need more perspective, Please listen to this Talk of the Nation (NPR) discussion entitled "No Expense Spared on Nation's Pets." 

Our focus has shifted slightly from the well being of humans to the well being of Pets. I don't want to be misunderstood - I strongly believe in environmental stewardship and even a fair amount of that tree-hugging stuff flying around today, but I do not think that any of this needs to come at the cost of human life. This diversion (I think) is more significant than people realize; we're slowly trading in human interaction and companionship for things that don't challenge us, things that accept us unconditionally, things that rely completely on us and give us faux sense of 'being needed' by someone else - and we're willing to pay any price to keep that companionship at our side - often at the expense of financial stability or even family.

I guess, in my mind, I wish we could spend more time worrying about protecting human life through things like stopping abortion, caring for people by building actual relationships (not facebook ones) and taking time to listen once in a while. 

Don't get rid of your diabetic dog, and hang on to that fish with the missing fin - but please - don't put these animals up against actual people.

EDIT: You may also want to check out another amusing discussion from the Bryant Park Project (also NPR.) "Prescribing Prozac for Dogs and Cats."