Humans domesticated animals for a reason: to hunt, to protect (dogs), to deter pests (cats), to provide food (cows, chickens, etc.). Why do people own animals today? TO FILL THE VOID OF LOVE AND AFFECTION. Is there a point of feeding your cat or a dog, knowing there are children who wake up every day and go to sleep every night starving? I will not own an animal until the last person on earth is not hungry. It looks like it will be NEVER. I get my satisfaction from taking care of animals by occasionally feeding my frequent garden visitors - the squirrels Hazel and Shelley. I provide water for the hundreds of birds that come to nibble around, and observe the wild animals that pass through my property - deer, bear, coyote, raccoons. And that is all I need.