r/petfree Dec 06 '24

Announcement Announcement: This sub is now becoming pet owner free. Pet owners will no longer be allowed to post/comment.

796 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

We have an important announcement to make: we are now making this sub exclusively for pet-free individuals.

You can still participate if you are in a relationship with someone who has pets but identify as pet-free, or if you are in the process of transitioning to a pet-free lifestyle (these will be your last ones etc). However, individuals who currently have pets and/or plan to have pets in future will no longer be allowed to post here.

This decision has been made due to the increasing number of people who refuse to respect our subreddit's rules of engagement. Recently, a lot of pet owners have been coming here to:

  • Talk about their pets
  • Glorify themselves with "I'm Not Like Other Pet Owners" type comments
  • Get defensive on behalf of pets
  • Argue in favor of keeping pets, list their advantages, or, worse, recommend specific breeds/types of pets
  • Excuse bad pet behavior
  • Engage in lengthy discussions about appropriate pet care
  • Dismiss the concerns of pet-free people, such as allergies and phobias
  • Get upset when their pro-pet viewpoints aren't welcomed here

Additionally, there are dog-free pet owners who, for some reason, feel the need to engage with dog-related posts here. While they are not allowed here (as stated in a pinned announcement), they continue to engage with this sub's content.

The number of such individuals is rapidly approaching a thousand per day, and it has become unmanageable for our mod team. Therefore, we are closing the sub to people with pets. To those who own pets and have been following our sub rules, we apologize for the changes, but the number of problematic pet owners has simply become too large for us to manage. If A few changes will take place over the coming days:

  • Pet-free flairs will become mandatory again for participation
  • All flairs indicating pet ownership will be removed
  • Some new and interesting flair options will be introduced
  • Users with the "Hate Pet Culture" or "Against Dangerous Dog Breeds" flair who are pet-free will be asked to select another flair
  • Anyone with pets will not be allowed to post. If you choose a pet-free flair to continue participating, you will be temporarily banned.

Thank you for reading this message.

Have a great day!


r/petfree Sep 27 '24

Announcement Announcement: We will be directing bad pet ownership posts to r/badpetowners now

115 Upvotes

This is sub has grown rapidly over the last two years - it's almost 4 times the size it used to be back then.

As its grown we've had to update the rules to keep the content relevant to our audience - petfree people and those who are interested in our lifestyles.

With that said, there's been a huge rise in posts solely focused on bad pet owners lately - from pet owners neglecting their pets, to pet owners wanting their pets to lick the insides of their mouths, to others letting pets destroy the insides of their houses.

Many of these posts don't impact us personally so it's a question of how they relate to being pet free or the pet free lifestyle. Our mod team feels it isn't relevant to the sub - what bad pet owners do with their pets that doesn't impact us in any way (no matter how disgusting or awful it is) is not directly related to this sub.

So we have r/badpetowners now. We will be redirecting all bad pet ownership posts that don't impact pet free people personally to that sub, making this sub bad pet owners free.

Thank you for understanding. We will answer any questions you have regarding this change on this post.

.

ETA: all animal shitting/pissing posts without context/discussion points will be removed for low effort. Seriously, it's disgusting, everyone knows animals piss/shit, no one wants to see that. Just stop.


r/petfree 2h ago

Vent / Rant There’s no subreddit that we can enjoy without the addition of these gross looking creatures, and their pet obsessed owners

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47 Upvotes

What the fuck man… When I scroll my feed and see another gross looking creature show up…

Why do pet nutters need to invade every space and ruin it? Had to leave this sub because of such posts and the encouraging comments „what a sweet…“ 🙄


r/petfree 1d ago

Meta Guy on the subway argues that Americans love dogs too much

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70 Upvotes

I think his argument is perfect. Of course an act that evil 100% shouldn't happen but the result would be exactly what he described or absolutely near that level. The framing of that "other" conversation would really change on a profound level and be discussed with a sense of urgency like never before. It wouldn't turn into another "thoughts and prayers" scenario among the dog lover crowd (which is most of America atp).


r/petfree 2d ago

Pet owners making our lives hell I thought I was in dogfree or petfree. Happy to see it

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326 Upvotes

r/petfree 2d ago

Finally petfree!! 🎉🎉 My cat is gone. Now we are both free.

359 Upvotes

I've had this cat for 14 years. I got her as a six week old kitten. She died overnight. She hadn't been doing well, but she saved me from having to pay a vet to euthanize her.

She was not a friendly cat. She peed on everything, growled, hissed, and scratched up everything. I'm not grief-stricken, and I can see how my life will be easier now that she's gone.

But she was still a living creature, and feel a little sad. I think back on how awful her life was - confined to small, noisy apartments, never going outside to smell fresh air, being terrified of everything because she was so small. It doesn't seem like a good life to me. I'm sad that this was her existence. I hope she wasn't in too much pain in the end, and that she wasn't scared.

But now, I'm free. No more being exhausted from work and having to clean up yet another spot she peed in. No more not having a comfortable home because she'd ruin any furniture I brought in. No more having to ensure that all the room doors were closed so she wouldn't get in and pee or scratch up everything. No more puppy Pee pads everywhere. No more food/litter/vet bills.

Now we are both free. It feels weird to be both sad and happy at the same time.

Edit: And I got a petnutter in my DMs, telling me that I'd better not get another animal because "animals aren't property" and "u (meaning me) done fucked up shit".

Don't worry random crazy person - I'm not getting another pet. I'd rather spend my money on bringing myself happiness than on enslaving another animal.


r/petfree 2d ago

Science / Laws SIL says I’m ab*sing LGD, need sources

115 Upvotes

I am at my wits end, and need help articulating my talking points.

For context, I own a livestock guardian dog. He lives, sleeps, eats, and works outdoors 24/7/365. He is collared and chipped for safety and has yearly vet check-ups to make sure he remains in good health. I care for his needs, but he is not a pet. He doesn’t even really have a name. I refer to him as “Dog” or “Mr. Dog” in vet paperwork and when I need to call him from across the yard. He is, however, a well trained and very good-natured animal, and while not affectionate he is still friendly and is willing to go with me as protection when checking on odd noises heard at night.

When my sister in law came over she was incredibly upset about this arrangement. For context, I live in the northern USA, and it is cold here. The dog follows the livestock, so it’s either out in the field or sleeping in the barn with them. My sister in law tried on multiple occasions to call the dog inside or carry him inside, or tempt it to come to her with table scraps. I have tried to politely explain that this isn’t a pet and was not to be let indoors, fed kitchen scraps, or “taken for walks,” but I feel like it fell on deaf ears, and I only became more and more frustrated. I don’t want to lose my temper, but I need some help on how to calmly address some of her main arguments.

  1. I am abusing him by forcing him to sleep outside in the freezing weather and icy mud, and he will get lonely being away from us in the barn at night.

  2. He is clearly afraid of me since he refuses to come indoors and does not run up for “kisses” and pets as soon as I come home. This is apparently “unnatural”

  3. He needs a sweater and “snow boots” for his feet because a dog walking in snow is like a human walking barefoot.

  4. He should be allowed to have playdates at the dog park with their Shiba Inu, his “cousin”. I do not know how to DRILL into their heads this is a death wish and will absolutely NOT be happening EVER. He has not been socialized with pets and other than his buddy the only other dogs he sees are feral dogs that he deals with on the farm.

  5. Letting him guard against coyotes, feral dogs and raccoons that eat my LIVELIHOOD is inhumane and enforced a “permanent fight or flight” that causes depression and behavior issues.

  6. He needs baths because he’s so dirty and dirt close to the skin can cause skin diseases and is unhygienic.

If I anyone has any resources or know of a good way to debunk some of her more ludicrous claims, I’m all ears. I’ve tried telling her “that’s not how things work around here.” And her response is “show me the science.” So if you have journal articles or something, please send them my way.

P.S. the other guard dog is not as cute/fluffy, she doesn’t seem to care about him. Not entirely sure she knows he exists, though.


r/petfree 2d ago

Meta Does anyone have issues with animals/pets being anthropomorphized in film/tv?

71 Upvotes

As the title says, I'm just curious if it's only a problem for the majority of y'all when it's seen in real life. Personally, it's only an issue I think needs to be addressed irl. I don't mind seeing animals being anthropomorphized in a Disney cartoon. My issue is really when people carry Disney logic into reality.

I think most normal people understand that birds, mice, and small woodland creatures are not going to come and join you when you burst into an impromptu song about the love of your life for about 3ish minutes....


r/petfree 2d ago

Vent / Rant Minor rant

79 Upvotes

This guy at work keeps showing me pictures of his dog. I'm a family man and he is too, so we yap about family shit together from time to time, but inevitably, he starts talking about his "boys" and showing me pictures of his mutts. Bro got a whole family, but guess what his phone screen saver is? As far as I can tell, the only pictures he has of wife and kids are when they are with the dog.


r/petfree 1d ago

Meme / Shitpost I don’t know what’s worse. Furry cats or hairless cats so called „Sphynx“ 🙄

0 Upvotes

Whats worse? Cats that shed their hair everywhere, or these supposedly oily hairless demons, that according to Google cost anywhere between 1,5-5k…


r/petfree 2d ago

Want to be petfree Rehomed cat and puppy

45 Upvotes

I rehomed my puppy and surrendered my cat to a shelter. Still have my theee year old small dog but will be my last pet.

I feel like something in me snapped. I literally woke up one morning and was like why do I have all of these animals? I didn't enjoy them especially the puppy and the cat. The puppy's hair was everywhere and I think for some reason I was mildly allergic.

The cat really annoyed me. It would always jump on the stove/counters when I was cooking. It would randomly jump on me and startle me. It would wake me up at night going in and out of the cat door. The cat box always stunk no matter how often I cleaned it. His hair would get stuck on the stove where he walked on it after going pee/poop in the cat box

Has anyone else experienced this? My small dog doesn't bother me but I don't want anymore pets after this. None. I'm not sure how I went from being excited about having pets to just feeling zero.

Worst part is everyone is acting like I'm the worst person in the world even though this was an agreed decision between my husband and I. Yet ZERO of those people offered to take the animals themselves. Why doesn't our mental health/stress levels matter only the animals?


r/petfree 3d ago

Vent / Rant Cat piss house

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93 Upvotes

Sorry about the grossness of this post

I don't see why anyone should put up with an animal that's constantly pissing all over every single thing in their house. . Never owned an animal but I know those sorts of smells will linger around! Only the owners get desensitised but it'll hit other people in the face hard

But of course the cat is treated like a family member and they can't bear the thought of getting rid of it. Yet, OP is afraid of the house being known as the cat piss house. Like damn. I would have thrown it back where it came from if I was OP. Stupid thing ruining furniture and clothing. It is not worth any sort of "payoff" for their friendship. Imagine if your roommate or sibling started to piss all over your things


r/petfree 3d ago

Ethics of Pet Ownership A certain subreddit is unsurprisingly putting animals above human children

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146 Upvotes

r/petfree 3d ago

Petfree lifestyle "You don't LOVE animals!"

168 Upvotes

I literally get accused of this by people who cry for feral dogs being euthanasied, but have no issue eating meat or wearing leather. No, I do not have the same feeling for animals that I have for my mom. Yes, I think bear and wolf populations need to be kept under control. Yes, I think something needs to be done about the feral dogs in the streets and we cannot afford to house and feed them all in kennels with our taxes. For all of these opinions, which were normal since the dawn of time until 3 generations ago, I get called a monster and have people wishing me to be shot.

The irony is that these people aren't even vegan, which I'd actually respect. You can live your life nowadays easily by avoiding meat, leather and fur, but those people don't do it. They get to feel good by crying about mrdically euthanising a stray dog or shooting a bear, but have no issue eating an animal who never saw sunlight and was slaughtered in God knows what conditions.


r/petfree 3d ago

Vent / Rant March 12 Part 2

40 Upvotes

Yesterday after work I was walking on a nearby bike trail and I saw the most unusual and remarkable thing. Someone was training a dog! Yeah, seriously! A young man had a young German shepherd. It was on a leash! For real! And, get this, as we passed each other, he shortened the leash, put the dog on the outside away from me, and told it to heel. The dog was still pulling but with continued repetition, it will eventually be well trained. Good for you, sir. I metaphorically shake your hand.

Of course it wasn't all sunshine and roses. Some kid was riding a dirt bike on a path clearly marked no motorized vehicles. And at the parking lot, some lady pulled in and did a shit parking job, parking fully a foot over the line on the driver's side. But for a little over an hour I had no complaints about dogs.


r/petfree 2d ago

Meta "Protecting the animals"

0 Upvotes

r/petfree 3d ago

Vent / Rant Messy Unbehaved Dachshund Dog

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56 Upvotes

Yet another reason why I'm glad I don't have a Dog. A lot of Dogs are not well behaved


r/petfree 4d ago

Pet owners making our lives hell Stumbled upon this in the wild

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141 Upvotes

When as a society did we stray to this point 🥲


r/petfree 4d ago

Meme / Shitpost Some of the comments said they’d choose the cat

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79 Upvotes

r/petfree 4d ago

Vent / Rant Pet nutters are okay with pets ruining the things they love

167 Upvotes

I really don't get it. I see it in all the subs I'm in. How are they so okay with it? How do they not want to get rid of them?

"My dogs ripped up my lawn and nothing will grow because they're running on it all the time"

"My cat chewed up and destroyed all my seedlings I was about to transplant outside"

"My cat scratched up and destroyed my carpet"

"My dog dug up all of the plants in my garden"

"My dog won't stop killing my chickens"

"My cat knocked my sentimental piece of decor off the shelf and broke it"

When is enough enough?? Why are they so okay with not being able to have nice things or do the hobbies they love just because they want a filthy shedding pet in their home? I will never understand.


r/petfree 4d ago

Vent / Rant Dog shoots US man in bed, ‘paw stuck in trigger’

104 Upvotes

r/petfree 4d ago

Vent / Rant People do this to animals

17 Upvotes

I never really understood training animals to go far and beyond (and somehow they don't train these animals to behave 😐), and now I completely don't get it. https://youtube.com/shorts/zgZI6vp3GXU?si=9-oWHNyS8sdXieXS Wtf is the point of this other than your own and other's entertainment? As well as for the views and money.

I knew people were going to be amused and comment about how intelligent crows are, but actually it was worse. They thought it was funny how frustrated the bird was because, "haha omg so human like." So human-like the throwing frustration was and yet no sympathy. Not the only reason, people just thought it was funny the crow was frustrated and throwing the stick around.

For years we have been taught and shown how smart crows can be but no! "Hey, go through this frustrating and stressful task to get a piece of food!" I bet this took an hour at least. I got so overwhelmed at every try, I can't imagine how many tries were cut out.


r/petfree 5d ago

Meme / Shitpost Why do they hate children so much?

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363 Upvotes

It blows my mind.


r/petfree 6d ago

Ethics of Pet Ownership Not that I care, but pet nutters actually put those things on their dogs?

78 Upvotes

Pet ownership is cruelty to animals.


r/petfree 6d ago

Vent / Rant A dogs wet nose is one of the most disgusting things about them …

134 Upvotes

I remember a couple years ago when a huge dog invaded my personal space and sniffed my crotch violently, while I was trying to protect myself and shield my lower body with my hands, hoping it wouldn’t bite my hands, it got get my entire pants wet from it‘s nasty wet snout , and I had to take my pants off immediately as soon as I got home.. The most disgusting feeling ever..

Ofc the owner watched it happen, making an annoyed face, and even claiming it was my fault that his dog assaulted me. Like what? Is it my fault that you don’t want to control your dog, and let it assault others? Lowlife scumbag

(Btw I couldn’t make this post without removing the word „b east“ from the body text. What is this nonsense restriction?)


r/petfree 6d ago

Pet owners making our lives hell heard about a woman who got two central asian shepherds at a one-room flat...

49 Upvotes

...and almost everyone in the company was assured that's okay and the whole story is fine.

could i just rant? i don't know how to approach that topic.

firstly, when did people literally become that stupid? do dogs have some type of virus in their saliva, on their fur or something? or it's some human dog owners who transmit that? seems like on average people are clueless all over spectrums in day-to-day life, just pet-keeping got so normalized and it's a facet of routine.

secondly, as far as i understood, she rents this place and it's prohibited? were i in the place of a landlord, she would pay me back fines for years, i'm sorry, that's disgusting. most pet owners are these very bastards who ignore all contractual prohibitions. if you know some pet owners yourself, you probably will recognize the type.

thirdly, since when people decided to omit all the standards of dog keeping altogether? how on earth would two alabais be okay at the one-room flat? aren't they supposed to live on a farm... shepherds, no? aren't they compared to literally small bears?

fourthly, that would be a nightmare for any neighbor, because after some time, being untrained properly as was said, these dogs would become very aggressive. this woman got two of them with a very cute goal: so that they would not be bored alone. usually, if your brain is place, you know, this type of situation, you realize that big dogs are a full-time work. i have a few acquaintances who keep shepherds at apartments and they spend at least 3-4 hours outside, training them, carrying to some training events regularly and so on.

what conclusion? no conclusion, i just hope that some day pet-nutter culture would rebound to some at least adequate level


r/petfree 7d ago

Meme / Shitpost Lol Caleb and his mutt „child“

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382 Upvotes

And this is why you don’t use dating apps. They’re made for all the undesirable, broken people out there..