Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Double Stubble

Bizarro is brought to you today by Two for One.

Generally speaking, I try to post these cartoons a week after they appear in papers, and since I'm a bit behind that schedule, I'm posting two today. What good fortune for us all!

In one we have a cat who was mutilated for the purposes of his "owner's" convenience, musing sarcastically about said owner's karmic comeuppance. In the other, we have a moving man transporting all of the worldly possessions of an ascetic monk in a bicycle basket.

Can you tell which cartoon is which?

NOTE: This is not a contest, per se. No winner will be announced, no prizes awarded. Play at your own risk. Injuries or financial loss incurred while reading this blog are not the responsibility of the characters in the cartoons, nor their creator. If you are still reading this far, why not purchase some fine Bizarro products from this website? I don't get paid for writing this blog or posting these cartoons and newspapers are closing right and left. A guy has to make a living or he'll have to quit this line of work and go back to washing cars and selling phony religious artifacts on the side. (Can I interest anyone in a genuine button off of Jimi Hendrix's shirt?)

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dan, I have to say that when animal activists compare declawing to mutilation it's by far extreme. There are plenty of people out there that ruthlessly beat animals for there own sick enjoyment. Putting mostly loving cat owners who want to save their furniture and abusive sick people on the same level is foolish and wrong. They are not. I have two cats, one of which has been declawed. It's been my cat for years, but when I was younger we had it declawed simply because no one at the time told us what the potential outcomes could be. No one said my cat could be emotionally messed up for the rest of it's life. They said it's just a simple surgery. (Yes, I realize the process no need to explain) My cat turned out fine, but one of my mothers cats that got declawed is very skiddish. (Could be from declawing, could also be because he is the runt of the litter) We didn't realize that a surgery could put cats in such danger.
I feel like animal activists are always so ready to jump at people and call them evil or abusive, they dont really think about that stuff before they say it. My declawed cat is not mutilated. Not even close. Yes, I realize that they cut off the front part of their toe, but many cats can overcome this surgery with no issue (Indeed, some cant) Maybe vets need to start offering less expensive alternatives to declawing.(Those claw caps look like a great idea, but I still wonder if most cats would hold still, maybe they could offer cheap sedatives) I'm lucky in that my other cat lets me cut his nails. He sits still pretty good, but realistically most cats start to absolutely freak out when you just barely touch their paws. As unfortunate as it is Dan, other options would help so we're not filling up humane societies with animals that are going to be put to death.

Piraro said...

@jordon.robischon...
Thanks for your input, your points are well taken. I agree that there are far worse things one can do to a cat than have it declawed, but that's pretty much true of anything. I'm not saying that you, personally, are a cruel person for having done so. Now that you understand the issue, you'd not likely do it again, and that's the important thing.

I'm afraid I have to disagree with you on the issue of calling it "mutilation," however. If all ten of the last digits of a human's hands were removed surgically, they healed and became used to using the remaining stubs of their fingers, you'd still say they'd been mutilated. It's not a term of judgment, it's just what the word means.

My comments in the blog are not meant to shame people who have done this out of ignorance in the past, but rather to discourage people from doing it thoughtlessly in the future.

I don't think you're a bad person and I do appreciate your comments. Thanks.

John Reid said...

I like the comic and have thought for a while that declawing is a cruel thing to do to an animal. The purpose for declawing - so your furniture wont get wrecked - mystifies me. Its far more important to keep a cats sense of safety and comfort in tact then to worry about your furniture. I do not even agree with "indoor" cats. My cat was an indoor cat when we got her from the previous owners and we immediately let her outside, and the moment we did she was in heaven - running wildly from one tree to the next and exploring etc.
I do think its a great thing for a cat to be in a loving household, but not if youre going to hurt the cats natural tools and instincts.

ps Our furniture was never hurt by our cats claws

Anonymous said...

Semi-random comment: I saw a monk in the nearest Quick Trip to my house and it TOTALLY made my day. He was a little shorter than what your cartoon version appears to be, however, but close enough that it reminded me of this and made my day AGAIN. Thank you!

Penny Mitchell said...

My Mother had her cat declawed. Her cat has lived with us since my Mom passed away. Yes, I'm thrilled that Mom rescued her from a shelter all those years ago, but yes, it still makes me sad that Mom had her declawed.

What Dan said is true...there are much worse things that can happen to an animal, but declawing is still mutilation.

Amber Avines said...

Dan, thanks for continuing to use your voice and art to highlight issues that impact animals. You are utilizing your talents to amuse and enlighten. THAT is a beautiful thing. Keep up the great work!

Jodie said...

Reminds me of when I told my UU high school class that I considered having lots of piercings and tattoos to be self-mutilation. I think it depends if you can put yourself in the person's place or in this case the animal's place. I agree... but still feel that tattoos and piercing your body are both self-mutilating.

marine_explorer said...

When cat's claws are outlawed...only outlaws will have clawed cats.