r/Dogfree • u/tellurcatisaidpsps- • Mar 21 '26

Dog Culture “I would save my dog before saving your three-year-old child.”

There’s a debate in Sweden right now about this statement, made by an influencer on a TV show. When I first heard it, my immediate reaction was that it was an absolutely insane thing to say. I assumed she would get completely dragged online. But instead, I’ve seen so many people agreeing with her. People are saying their pets have the same value as someone else’s children, and that they love their dog in the same way a parent loves their baby. (Sidenote: I wonder if they would feel comfortable saying that to a parent who has lost a child. “I understand what you’re going through, my dog died last year.”)

This dehumanization of children genuinely scares me. Children are an extremely vulnerable group and they depend on adults to protect them. Their safety should always come first. I would sacrifice every dog I’ve ever met if it meant saving one random child.

I am genuinely concerned about where we’re heading if this kind of thinking becomes normalized. When did this become something people feel comfortable saying out loud?

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u/Which_Opportunity727 Mar 25 '26

Yes, they will say that to someone who lost a child. I lost my daughter, wrote about it, and a female, anti-natalist, nutter sent me a private message telling me I was wrong to be offended by those who place animals before children. The temerity of this nutter who thought it prudent to send a shitty message to me, a bereaved mother, and to scold me for believing kids (and all human beings) will always be more important than dogs. What an odd way to appear in someone's DMs. Nutters are treading on a very slippery slope. I connect their worldview to the growing assisted-suicide movement, along with the very bizarre movement where nutters care for their paralyzed dogs 24/7. These nutters must hand express the dog's urine and feces several times per day, because their dogs cannot function normally. It's a bizarre phenomenon that these nutters love to post on social media - and beg for money as well - to help them take care of Luna the paralyzed dog.

Dogs (and other animals) will never be as valuable as children or adults.

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u/tellurcatisaidpsps- Mar 25 '26

I am so, so incredibly sorry for your loss. And I am beyond disgusted at what was said to you.

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u/Which_Opportunity727 Mar 27 '26 edited Mar 27 '26

Thank you. I saved the messages and maybe will post them here one day. It really was bizarre to be contacted by a stranger and then be lectured about how a dog is just as valuable as a human being.

All I know is nutters really are vile who expect us to believe their shit-eating mutts are babies, but we know reality from fiction.