Dog lovers tend to anthropomorphise dogs and invest them with human feelings, desires and qualities. Some make them wear clothes they don’t need and offer them fancy food they don’t appreciate. As a dog lover I do understand this need to pamper and give what we see as the best to our fur babies. However, I do also realise that we humans do this for our own satisfaction not for the pet. And then there is the SUPERWOOF luxury dog hotel in Cape Town what would make most sensible people go WTF?
There are pools and toys and grassy spaces for dogs to play and frolic. The doggies are looked after by handlers who are on duty 24 x 7. Fine so far – suppose pet owners are out of town, they would be comforted knowing that their fur baby is being well looked after and isn't feeling lonely or bored or neglected. But there is also dog champagne (water with herbs in a champagne bottle)? And there is a view of the mountains – for the dogs? Pet owners are clearly kidding themselves if they think they are spending a bomb on something like this for the good of their pets.
Think about the stories we read or hear about in the news – such as when people have a birthday party for a dog or decide to have a wedding ceremony for pooches. I can tell you for a fact that the doggie has no interest in a birthday party. He or she may be happier with just an extra treat. While some dogs are very sociable and enjoy having people around – such as at a party, some may be quite unnerved at having their space invaded by a bunch of strangers.
And while a dog may enjoy frolicking in a pool and lounging on a lounger and playing with other furry friends as this luxury hotel offers, he or she doesn’t need expensive ‘pampering’. That dog is as happy if their human just took them on a long walk or tossed around a ball for them to chase. The canine concept of pampering and the human concept of this may be very different indeed.
As this tweet points out, many find this kind of spending a waste if not actually reprehensible. Now I get that it is a false binary. To say "how dare someone spend so much on a dog when there are so many humans starving in the world" is unfair. Not spending on dog luxuries is not automatically going to put food on a starving family’s plate, this goes without saying. Of course, people have – and should have – complete freedom to do what they want with their wealth. I am no one to dictate that any one way of spending is better or more worthy/virtuous than any other.
However, it is the stark disparities that are troubling. The contrast between the wretched living conditions of so many poor people on the one hand and dogs wallowing in luxuries on the other – this is what pinches a lot of people. There is also this feeling of resentment among some people because of how some wealthy people have access to so much and think nothing of wastage and conspicuous consumption. It is as if they have so much wealth, that they don’t quite know what to do with it and then look for new and ever more bizarre ways to spend.
This is a complex issue that has no easy answers – there is no right or wrong here. A person has every right to do what they want with wealth that is legally theirs – no one has the right to pass moral judgement on their choices. And truth be told, happy dogs please me, so I'm happy to see well-loved, well looked after pets. But still – dog champagne? A mountain view for animals who don’t have very good eyesight and almost certainly no appreciation for a scenic vista? This is a bit much no matter how you slice or dice it.
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