Breaking News

I like my pets WAYYYY more than about 98% of people I meet, so I wouldn't Hesitate to break the law for my pet. If that makes me nuts, well so be it.

A living being is a living being.. period. One life force is not more valuable than another.

And yes.. I know this view probably won't be shared or popular but IMO sometimes animals > humans. Animals (domesticated) are unable to completely care for themselves unlike most grown human beings. When I take an animal into my home and my family I will treat it as good as any person.. usually better, since I dislike people in general. But I love almost all animals.. My pets are my babies. That *is* my child in every way other than physically giving birth to it.

Do I think driving recklessly and endangering people is smart? Of course not, but if any one had an injured kid and was rushing them to a hospital (for some reason instead of calling an ambulance) and they drove like that... no one would really condemn them like the cat guy has been, would they? Who really has the right to decide that just because they don't think of their cat/dog/etc as a member of the family that no one else is allowed to? bah, I know people don't agree but that's how I feel.

Honestly - I still think someone driving at break neck speeds, breaking the law to rush a kid to a hospital is irresponsible considering an ambulance could get the kiddo there quicker and with less risk. Its reckless behavior and endangering people - kid, mom, cat, president, Mary Kay...it's common sense. The risk isn't worth it to me. Hell, you could kill YOURSELF on the way. That's my point.

Exactly. You took the words right outta my mouth Roz, and thankfully put 'em in a more coherent order to boot ;)

My cat and dog are my other kids; I would not drive 100MPH with ANY ONE of them in the car.

Personally, I think that there are better options than breaking the laws, endangering yourself, the pet you're trying to save and others. There are emergency services for animals and there are emergency vets. One would think that all these people who love their pets so much would look into where these things are -before- their pets are in dire need of them.

I have had a pet die on the way to the emergency vet. No amount of speeding and breaking the law would have gotten him there in time. I knew exactly where the vet was and he still didn't make it. It would have horrible if I had injured myself or others for something I could not have changed no matter how hard I tried. I'd have guilt, and pain on top of the distress of losing my pet.

If you love your pets so much then keep emergency numbers handy. Post em on the fridge so that you don't have to fumble through a phone book for them. Many people would do that for their children so if this really is your "child" then take that kind of responsibility for it all the time.

Endangering human lives in order to save your pet is irrational and immoral. Human life takes precedence to the lives of animals, no matter how cute and adorable they are.

I agree. I don't disregard the fact some people look at their pets as their children or family. I do to some extent feel the same way about my pet(s). To get to the point where you are endangering yourself and others on the road, is not being rational.

How would you feel if a pet owner ran an intersection or red light, and t-boned your family's vehicle. Would you have the feeling of, well you understand, because he was trying to get his pet to the Vet, and that it's ok, because to him, that is his family?

It's easy to take the opinion, that one would dislike humans 90%+ of the time, so to do anything for your pet is ok. Pets are usually unconditional companions, however I agree that a human's life would take precedence over a pet's.

That'd be entering Sophie's Choice territory, to be honest. I do love my pets as much as I love my own child and it's not a statement I make lightly -- I had to really think about my feelings towards animals before making such a statement and I'm glad that my feelings haven't changed at this point. I do understand other people's point of views that animals are lower on the totem pole and I don't begrudge them that. In the end, I would probably save my own child over an animal for a variety of reasons, but my grief would be just as profound for losing the animal and I'd carry the guilt from that point on. You have clarified your point so I understand what you're trying to say. No harm, no foul.

I don't think animals and their relative value compared to humans is the point - it's not okay, in fact I think it's barbaric, to be so self centered as to recklessly endanger innocent lives for the sake of you and yours, whatever 'yours' may consist of. -Particularly- when there are other choices available.

All that said, I think a guy taking a long dead cat along for a 100 mph police chase is either lying about his intentions or mentally disturbed, temporarily or otherwise. I can see someone arguing that his cat's death just made him snap, he was upset and confused and made a terrible mistake, but I do not see his actions as rational, justified, or defensible.

I am very much a pet person, as Rainee and I practically have a zoo in our house. I love my pets more than most people I know. That being said, endangering the lives of other people to save your pet is never justified. I know if that guy would have hit Rainee doing 100mph to allegedly save his cat and would have killed her, I wouldn't be sitting here saying "well, it's ok, he was trying to save his pet so I understand".

I think he probably did it for much the same reason people drive drunk...the honestly don't think they are going to hurt anyone. Unfortunately, its other people that end up paying the price for them to learn their lesson.

My feelings are the same as Temprah's. All life is sacred and none deserves to be put above another. But putting others at risk is also wrong, so its a bad situation all around.

Now regarding the helicopter crashes... Call me cold hearted but if there were five copters in the air, filming that chase, the fault is not with the speeding maniac on the ground, its with the pilots in the air. Putting yourself and others in danger for a juicy story clip for the 6'oclock news is idiotic.