Do furries have pets?

[altivo]

So kyellgold asked yesterday whether real furries would have pets or if that seems too weird. To me the answer seems obvious enough.

Some do, and some don't, and there it is. Much the same as the situation with humans. I have never envisioned a world with furries in it where there weren't still other possible related non-anthropomorphic species. Of course there would be accommodations and mores about it, and of course there would be some furries who made bad pet owners just as there might be some who were crusaders for non-speaking animal rights. Perhaps I'm too strongly influenced by C. S. Lewis' version in Narnia, where there were talking Animals who were set aside from ordinary animals specifically by the gift of speech given to them at the world's creation by Aslan himself. And at the end of all things, those Animals who had abused their privilege or failed to live up to it lost that gift and became again the dumb beasts from which they were raised. This makes eminently perfect sense to me, and always has.

In Taking Flight, the novel I wrote for Nanowrimo 2006, my protagonist Jake did have a dog. Daisy is a special dog, though. She's a "quad", one of a small number of four legged beasts who do have limited speech capabilities and a good extra helping of rational intelligence. In fact, of all the characters in that story, though I dearly love Jake himself and his friend Chrysios (who is a very special quad indeed,) it is Daisy who is probably my favorite. I had to force myself to use her sparingly and with great care to keep her in character. And oh! How I'd love to have a cmpanion like her.

On the other hand, in The Argosiad, which is still not finished, there are no pets at all. The character interplay and plot are so complex, that it seemed like an unnecessary complication to introduce such an element. There are not even beasts of burden. The furry characters walk, and haul their cargo about on carts using their own muscle power (or the strength of hired help.)

Kyell's own world of Argaea, the home of Volle and Streak, has no pets, though he occasionally hints at the existence of wild, four legged beasts. My one disappointment in Argaea is the lack of anthropomorphic horses, which he has occasionally gone to great lengths to explain to me and others. I have a partially written story drafted out, set in the peripheral country of Delford, that explains this in my own way and provides me with an "out" for the situation that I find satisfying. It remains to be seen whether he will find it acceptable enough to let me publish the fan-fic, for that's what it would really amount to.

Comments

[cozycabbage.livejournal.com]

In one novel of mine, I have certain creatures (the ones that burrow) that can speak and have human-level intelligence. I think they still walk on four legs, though.

I do find it gets really hard to make things work when you've got popular animals as anthro.
Then there was Pokémon, which had a similar problem.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I don't find that difficult at all. To me it comes quite naturally.

[goldenstallion.livejournal.com]

Dear Rider.

It appears that Steed has a pet bear. Bear has shown an amazing interest in wanting to be leashed wearing his fursuit (which I need to make for him of course). Now that will be interesting. Finally convinced him to hindwalk (back savings) but he will be a quad black bear nevertheless.

I am picturing Steed being dragged around like the person with the Great Dane. Grin.

Imperator

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Be sure you give him rubber teeth. Or a muzzle. ;p

[hellmutt.livejournal.com]

Well, coming from the point of view that thinks a world without animals is no world at all... I'm not completely sure where I fit anthropomorphs, personally. I think they're almost completely in the 'human' category for me, in terms of intelligence and personality. And human people need animals, or they're not proper people. ;)

I adored Daisy, of course.

As for capital-A Animals, biological uplift is my favourite newly-learned term for something I've always thought about and built into my own planned writings. I've just started reading David Brin's Uplift Universe stories. There's a dolphin in the very first chapter. I'm already hooked.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

My mate is a great proponent of David Brin's Uplift series. I haven't read them yet because I've been a bit put off by some of his other work I tried to read.

I agree that anthropomorphs are almost human in behavior and thinking, but not entirely. In my view, as we have shaken off almost all the instinctive background of our ancestors, so have they. But just as we still have many behaviors and reactions that still reflect our primate past, so have they.

So, the canid/vulpine anthros have better hearing and smell, and respond to it more often. Their social behavior might not be quite like humans either. Likewise for felines, but in a more cat-like way, and so forth.

Would herbivore anthros like hares, equines, or cervines be carnivorous? I think not. Would they be a bit more timid in aggressive environments? Probably. Would canine anthro society tend to stratify into social roles like a wolf pack? Seems reasonable to me.

You see where I'm going with this, I hope. In that story, "A Close Port of Call" I took this in one possible direction with the interaction between lion and zebra.

[soanos.livejournal.com]

Lions and zebras do not mix very well, I know this. :P
And I hope we are not talking sexual interaction here. ;)

I am not familiar with this story myself, though, so I am just guessing here.

I R not educamated zebra. :|

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Lions and zebras just need to communicate more effectively and understand the difference between instinct and rationality. "A Close Port of Call" was published in ROAR volume 1 last spring, and you can read the story online. Just follow this link and then click the "Preview" button on that page.

[saythename.livejournal.com]

This strongly reminds me of a conversation I had on
FM in 2002.

"A fox with a pet?"

*huge grin*

I guess furries do have pets, hopefully they are
pets, as you point out, non-sentient small animals,
not sexual partners or something equally icky.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Oh, I dunno. If you see one furry leading another furry on a leash, what does it mean? Well, maybe we'd best not go into that... ;p

[saythename.livejournal.com]

It means someone needs to get out more often.

XD

Cognitive dissonance

[typographer.livejournal.com]

I was a bit confused for a moment, and was going to make one joke, then realized I was using different definitions.

See, "furry" as a noun evokes the fans of furry art, stories, et al, for me. So the question "would real furries...?" read in my mind as sort of the equivalent of "would real trekkies...?"

Then, of course, there's the meaning of the word "real." In my first confusion it became "true believer." Then on my second attempt look it became "literally existant present-tense." Then I finally got into the right groove (though it evoked memories of an argument I once witnessed at a D&D came where one person angrily asserted, "A real dragon doesn't do that!").

Of course, if I had followed the link before reading further, I might have missed all this fun spinning around in my own head.

To answer the actual question: "In a consistent literary world inhabited by anthropomophic animals, would those animals have pets?" I have to say that, "well, every one I've written in has. If there aren't non-sentient animals about filling usual purposes, than just who is in those hamburgers, eh?"

In my fantasy novel there's a feline constable who is an exotic racing pony enthusiast, for instance. Carts are pulled by non-sentient horses. But there are also intelligent dragons working with the Dragon Knights, and (off-screen thus far), sentient Griffons that are part of another aerial cavalry...

While in the Tai-Pan universe we have examples of both the non-sentient pets, and sentient four-legged cats that sometimes masquerade as the non-sentient kind, then there are the non-anthropomorphed but still uplifted elephants of the planet Indus...

Re: Cognitive dissonance

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well, yes, our dictionary of colloquial usage has to include two somewhat different meanings for "furry, fur" though the edge between the two (fan or character) can be blurry in some cases, as in well known fursuits or their wearers, or well known RPers and their characters.

Here I was referring to characters of course, though a fair amount of what I said would apply to fans as well.

[soanos.livejournal.com]

I would abstain the use of term "pet" in this case,
as I would prefer to call my animal friend a "Companion" or an "animal friend". :)

Anthropomorphic beings, in spite of having nearly human intelligence, are,
in my opinion, still "linked" to their non-anthropomorphic counterparts,
which gives them some ability to communicate.
Anthropomorphic creatures should still have instincts,
but as "sentient" beings they can choose not to obey those instincts.
For zoomorphic creature, however, this is very difficult,
but could be done with help of an anthropomorphic companion.

I dream of a world where there are anthropomorphic horses and other creatures,
in which where everyone could live in peace and harmony with human beings...
But this is just a dream of a rainbow-striped zebra.
It is not possible for humans to keep peace among themselves.

Is it because of human intelligence?
If this is so, I'd rather just be a dumb zebra.

But back to this this world. I am seriously considering getting myself
a feline friend to keep me company during these lonely days.
And maybe some day, an equine family member.
But I and my zebra partner need to get a stable to call our own.
Until then, this feels like a distant dream.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I agree, companion is a better word in this case, and that's the one I often use.

The reason humans can't keep peaceful is greed and selfishness. Intelligence is the best tool we have for overcoming that, rather than the cause.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

You need a stable cat :) Meeeoowww :)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Don't mind Cab, he's just looking for someone to feed him (again.)

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

*whispers out the side of his mouth* Zip it horsey boy or its a halter and bit for you. ;)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

*steps on someone's tail* Oops.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

Hehe, I'm glad I keep a decoy about ;)