If you were faced with the choice between saving your pet or a human being, what would you choose?

A human being. Isn’t this a no brainer?

Edit: I forgot to say why I choose what I do. To me, a human’s life is more important than the animal’s. Obviously there are extremes and exceptions, but my answer is geared towards the average human.

I would probably agree w/ PnL…...except I think it depends on the human (e.g. think extreme examples….Hitler, etc.)

At first, both if at all possible.
if not then the human, their life mean more precious.

Now the more I think about it, It really does become a conflict in my head. How can we value the life of a human over the life of an animal? Isn’t it life either way? Maybe I answer human simply because they are the same species as I. I can communicate more with them, they have more to offer. Can an animal do the same? to an extent. Can they be your best friend? for sure.

Had to answer.

As much as I love my pets and animals in general, a human life is very special and each one is individually unique and that stands out in my mind when choosing to save the person first.

I’d save the person, but I’d probably bawl my eyes out.

I would always imagine my dog’s last thought to be, “Go then, there are other worlds than these.” And I would wonder if that was a comfort, or an indictment for a betrayer.

@aidje – loved the beginning of the dark tower series!

a person before a pet, because it is the right thing to do.

For all of you saying human for sure….what about a Hitler-esque person?

I’m also sort of wondering about the circumstances.

If my pet was going to walk into the road and all I had to do to save them was pull back on the leash, then I would definitely do that over, say, jumping into a meat grinder in the hopes of jamming it before it chopped up my neighbor.

@fireside
I guess I was assuming identical circumstances. Something along the lines of grabbing one hand/paw or the other.

So:
I read this question and found it interesting, and then saw that our in-house Christian has
asked it, and I think it’s a setup for being reprimanded (people have souls, animals don’t).
My true answer: unless I loved the person, I would save my own beloved animal. Because really, love matters to me more than species.

Now I’m going to see what happened up there ^.

Depends entirelly on the person in question. Look at my avatar. Thats Huckleberry, a 18 m/o old lab and would save him WAY before a lot of assholes I know. Anyway a person should have the wherewithall to save his/her own carcass, whereas an animal may be so scared or confused, they wouldn’t know how to respond.

I was wrong!!

edited by me, i was boring.

@susanc, I’m with you! I love my two dogs more importantly, they both love me unconditionally. If I didn’t know the other person, than, without a doubt my dogs. I pray I never have to make that decision.

Human being over my pet, in almost any circumstance I can imagine. The only way my answer would change is if I had personal knowledge that the human being was evil beyond redemption, or if the human was in danger because of an event they purposely caused, that also placed my pets in danger. (I’m thinking arson, here…but I’m sure there could be others).

I would have to agree that it would depend on who the person is. Some people I would save, no question. Others, not so much! Max is a pretty important part of our family, even though he’s the ferocious attack dog that he is.

Honestly, it really depends on who the person is. I’ve known my dog since I was eight, she’s more of a person to me than a lot of people.

The circumstances matter a lot.

Would I betray my dog over a complete stranger? Never.

If my dog was 19 years old (way old for a dog) and the human was a 10 years old, I would probably chose the human. But not necessarily.
If my dog was still a pup and the human was 102, I’ll save my dog.

My dog or my sister? My sister, but just don’t go there. They’re both family.

After having much more fulfilling and loving experiences with my pets than with a majority of people I have known, I would say my pet. Yes I said that! As Andy Rooney remarked; “The average dog is a better person than the average person”..And who got the idea animals dont have souls? Where did that come from!?!?!

I own no pets, so I’ll save the human.
Even if I did, I think I’d save the human.
You never know till you’re in the situation.

grab the paw not the hand I say .... yeah depends on the human

my cat or a stranger? maybe i’m illogical and insane, but i would choose my cat, hands down. my cat is absolutely one of my best friends. if we’re talking my cat or my mom, thennnn it would be different.

I love animals and all that, I’ve had wonderful pets in my life… but I would save my enemies life before my pet. Why? Because human is human and animal is animal. What would you consider to have more intrinsic value – a sweet cherried out bicycle or a totally broken down car? All things being equal, I would take the car. not the best analogy, but it works

edit: Just to clarify: My opinion doesn’t reflect the low value I place on a pet’s life, but more the extremely high value I place on my fellow human beings’. I respect and value the lives of animals – I’ve been a vegetarian for 20 years, primarily for ethical reasons – but actually having to make a decision between a human and Fido? No.