keeping "pets"

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If we really love animals do we even have any business keeping them as pets?  
 
That's the question I started to wonder about a while back. You see all my life I've grown up around animals and I've always loved them so much. But truly loving them means wanting what's best for them and I know that ideally a bird doesn't belong in a cage a fish doesn't belong in a tank and so on… Even having dogs live in our homes and not out in the world is a less-than-perfect life for them.
 
What's more the way we show love towards them -  the kissing and snuggling - well a lot of that is really what makes us feel better. Don't get me wrong animals need and crave affection just as much as we do. But they also have other animal needs that have to be met and are just as vital to them. If it were up to dogs they'd be out in the world in a natural state exploring and sniffing out new surroundings on long walks and interacting with other dogs. Things like that are just as important in making them happy. And we humans that care for companion animals still have to help them meet those needs since confinement to our homes doesn't allow them to do it for themselves.

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I think anyone who truly loves animals wants them to live the life that's most natural to them. This wouldn't be so complicated if there weren't animals out there needing homes locked in shelters and scheduled to be euthanized. We'd just let animals live the way they were meant to live and keep nature in nature.
 
But domesticated animals can't survive in the wild and there are millions of animals that do need saving. My dogs would not be alive if I hadn't rescued them. So even though I sometimes feel bad that they're confined to my home and yard but of course I try hard to meet their needs by taking them on long walks... If I was perfect that would happen every day for at least 30 – 45 minutes but I'm not perfect so I do the best I can it's a far better outcome than the suffering that is the alternative where even death can sometimes seem preferable to the horrific lives that neglected and homeless animals often lead. The situation is heartbreaking and sometimes all you can do is try to make the humane choice instead of the ideal choice.

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So considering all this where do we end up? To me it seems obvious that if you're going to open your home to a pet it should be a rescued pet only. That's the only way I can justify keeping animals – when they need us. But please whatever you do don't buy from the breeders and pet stores that make a profit off selling life and creating more animals. Every animal bought from a breeder or pet store represents a home taken away from another animal in a shelter and animals facing death don't care whether they're in the wild or in a house they just want to live. Anywhere.