Vanity, Lust, Envy, Greed, Gluttony

Ok, for real, these weren't meant to be a seven deadly sins project. I used the symbolic colors of these five sins just for shits and giggles, between me and a few friends.

Really, this was an art project was for a psychology paper. We got to choose our own subjects, so I chose Narcissism and Vanity Pets.

Narcissism: an exceptional interest in or admiration for oneself, esp one's physical appearance; Vanity

Vanity Pet: an animal purchased as a trophy rather than a pet, to boost one's status among friends or society, to gain attention, or simply for bragging rights

The Horse: Having an elitist attitude about a highly registered or "champion" horse, while not actually giving credit to the horse for the work it does, treating it instead as a tool to make money and gain a certain level of fame among peers.

The Dog: Similar to the horse, treating a highly bred dog as a money making machine (champion puppies) or a trophy animal (show dogs) without caring for improving the breed, or without treating the dog as a companion.

The Savannah Cat: Beautiful and exotic, but for $20,000 a kitten from most breeders, not many can afford one of these hybrid cats, who were bred to keep a piece of the wild in your home.

The Wolf or Hybrid: There are many people who want a wolf or wolf dog in their home. They're just like dogs, it would be easy, and you'd have the bragging rights of owning a while animal, right? Wrong. I myself own a wolf hybrid. We've had hybrids in our family since I was ten. I love them, they're the greatest dogs we've ever had...and I would never recommend them to anyone as a pet. It takes a great deal of socializing, and a strong training hand to handle a hybrid. If you jump up now and say "oh, I have a bond with dogs, I could do it." I will tell you right now, you probably can't. No special bond is going to make a hybrid (or any dog really) more manageable. It takes long periods of training, and even then, you can never leave that animal unsupervised with guests or children. I know Sierra, our current hybrid, as well as I know my siblings. I trained her myself, and I have some confidence in my skills with dog training. But I would never, for one minute, leave her alone with either of my nephews, or any guests. I would even be cautious, if not completely against having people on the street pet her while walking her. I would never let her off the leash in a public area (park or otherwise), not for fear that she'd run off (on the contrary, she's quite responsive to commands) but because I wouldn't want to chance her attacking (or being attacked by/retaliating) another dog. I have watched her play happily with my nephews (one is three, the other is only four months) many times, but it only takes one slip up, just thinking that its safe, cause it always have been, to ruin any number of lives. My step father bought our wolves, from the very first one. He is a Vanity Owner. He bought from a Vanity Hoarder*. No matter who he's speaking too, whether he just met them or not, he never passes up an opportunity to say "did you see my wolf?" Sanctuaries are filled to the brim with wolves and hybrids people thought they could handle. Don't add too them. If you want a wolf, research the tamaskan or utangon breeds. Or better, check out dogbreedinfo.com and find a breed that matches you best. Dogs are our companions, not our trophies.

The Tiger: How many times has animal planet or the news shown someone being attacked by their pet tiger or lion, by their beloved leopard, or bear, or monkey? And who doesn't fantasize about getting up close and personal with these animals? But that is where it should end. A Fantasy. Large predators are not meant to be pets. And neither are many small predators. I have seen pet foxes (quite a few) who are happy and well cared for. But the people who own them know their animals, and how to care for them. In the cases of Lions or Tigers, there is too much of a risk to take. And after the owner slips up, or the animal acts out? If it isn't destroyed (the likely case), it is sent to a sanctuary, assuming one can take it. Most pets sent to sanctuaries are spayed or neutered, because they can't properly contribute to a breeding program. So perhaps its best to leave these animals in the wild.

*Vanity Hoarder: The woman in question bought wolf hybrids like they were candy at a gas station. She had ten full grown hybrids and two litters of puppies together in a pen that was 10x10x10 feet. Every other day, she threw a fifty pound back of dogfood in the pen and let them fight for it. Two of the pups drown in the water trough, which was more filled with mud than with water. These animals were living in horrible conditions, and my mom (the one time we went with to see her, until then, it had only been my stepdad going) was so horrified with the situation that she called the local humane society. All the animals were relocated to sanctuaries, and the woman was banned from owning them again. She is closely monitored by the humane society. She is also an example of what buying a hybrid without understanding them or being able to control them can become.


Comments, Critique, or opinions are all very much welcome. Even arguments, if you must. Try to keep it civil, though, whether speaking to me, or to another commenter.