Mutts, moms, management--and Ellen DeGeneres
In my law classes I like to talk about different kinds of law: the law enacted by governments, organizational rules and social norms. Above we got a passel of the latter two.
The scene: Ellen DeGeneres crying because a nonprofit adoption agency re-claimed the dog she had adopted after she gave it to her stylist.
Although such a publicized dispute between rescue groups and adoptive animal owners is rare, it reveals something that pet lovers have known for years: Private rescue groups are legendary for their stringent requirements and hurdles for prospective adopters.
Long applications, home visits and strict diet regimens are the hallmarks of some rescue groups' adoption processes. To some, it can rival the complexity of adopting or fostering a child.
The organization's name, "Mutts and Moms," points to what is going on here.
In nature, the relationship between dogs and pet owners is an example of symbiotic mutualism--in short, they exhibit traits we like, and we give 'em stuff.
However, for various reasons some people frame this relationship in terms of the metaphor of parenthood. From this perspective, they don't own dogs; the dogs are their children, and they are dog's mom or dad.
This way of seeing can give rise to its own set of norms, rules and even laws grounded in the image of the dog as a human child.
Ellen treated the dog as something of a hybrid, which is not unusual--child and friend in some spheres, animal and property in another. The key sphere in which it was animal property: transfer of ownership. Ellen saw giving the dog to her friend as a responsible extension of her care; the animal "adoption agency"--again, note the metaphor--viewed it as abandonment.
Whatever side you're on in this incident, the key thing to remember from an organizational management standpoint is to maintain the ability to look beyond your own group's perspective. It's easy to be a cyclops--dogs are kids and that's that, tough luck for you. But life is a complex phenomenon, and sometimes a wiser principle is one that combines elements from various parts.
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Actually, the "Mutts and Moms" name for this rescue comes from a different motivation. "Mutts" refers to dogs at the various LA municipal shelters that are less than desirable and usually wait lengthy periods before being adopted, if at all. "Moms" has to with the pregnant dogs at the pounds who, after having weaned their puppies, are most often not adopted and quite frequently euthanized --while their puppies are highly adoptable. Very few people want a dog (or cat)that has recently had and nursed a litter, they're very unattractive. These are the driving factors behind the operators of this rescue, and the basis for their name.
If you had asked most any rescue group that pulls animals from shelters' euthanasia lists, they would tell you this same information regarding pregnant animals or "new mothers".
I do agree with a great deal of your thoughts though-- people tend to personify animals a great deal. While that is their right, at times it may detract from the unique nature of the animal, which should be valued for what it is, not for how much their qualities can appear like ours.
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