宠物可以带给一个家庭无限的快乐以及回忆。我们爱宠物就像爱自己家人一样，而我们当然也希望自己带给宠物一个安全、健康、快乐的家。但是，除了快乐之外，养宠物还带来另外一种情绪：罪恶感。当我们看到自己家的猫或者狗坐在窗户旁边想出去，或者看着金鱼在水缸里一圈一圈的游，我们不能不怀疑自己，我们是在提供给他们一个家庭，还是是妨碍他们的自由？我们养宠物很开心，但是宠物本身开心吗？
 
这是作者在本书中探讨的核心问题。 她自己也是养过许多个不同的宠物（从狗、猫、鱼、老鼠、螃蟹等等什么都有），她知道宠物对于人类带来的温暖以及快乐。但是，她同时也不否认人类与宠物之间存在着一种不平衡、不道德的关系。她在书中透过个人故事、哲学理念以及人类在动物心理学以及科学上的研究结果来探讨这个问题。我们领养宠物到底道德吗？为什么人类有权利领养动物，其他动物却没有呢？有没有哪一种类的动物实在不适合养来当宠物？有没有什么办法能够让我们养宠物的方式更道德？


这是一本充满同理心以及科学研究的书。 如果你爱动物，家里有宠物，或者在考虑养宠物的，一定不能错过这本书。
 
关于作者：
Jessica Pierce是一位哲学教授以及哲学作家。她写过许多本书。
 
好评：
Kirkus Reviews
"A thoughtful book that should spark debate, with the author stressing that bringing a companion animal into one's life is an ethical commitment that should not to be taken lightly."
 
Marc Bekoff, author of Rewilding Our Hearts
"So, you want to share your home with a companion animal? Millions of people make pets out of a wide variety of animals, from dogs and cats to hamsters, gerbils, rats, mice, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates, and this decision is one that demands careful attention, for we truly are the individuals' oxygen. Unfortunately, the lives of innumerable pets are intentionally and unintentionally highly compromised--indeed many are simply horrific--because people haven't done their homework about what it means to live with another being or because they are ignorant of just whom the animal is. There are many ethical questions that need careful attention and these quandaries, some obvious and others less so, don't fit into a nice and clean 'right' and 'wrong' mold. Run, Spot, Run will force potential and experienced pet-keepers to think about what they're getting into, and likely mean that many readers will be moved out of their comfort zone. For equitable human-pet relationships to occur, and for animals to be able to express their full behavior repertoire, things are going to have to change. Jessica Pierce confronts many difficult and challenging issues head-on, and I hope her latest book becomes essential reading for those people who make the choice to bring a nonhuman into their lives. Currently, it's all too easy to become a pet-keeper, and this results in many unhappy humans and nonhumans."
 
Mark Derr, author of Dog's Best Friend
"In Run, Spot, Run, Jessica Pierce has produced a timely examination of pet keeping today that challenges our rationalizations and justifications for keeping nonhuman animals of all persuasions for our amusement under conditions that, even at their best, are inadequate and at their worst inhumane. A pet keeper, herself, Pierce makes clear that some animals should not be kept at all while we should re-evaluate and reform our approaches to keeping others, like cats and dogs, who have long lived with us. Anyone thinking of getting an animal of any sort for any reason should first read this book."
 
Barbara King, author of How Animals Grieve
"Even those of us with the best intentions for the dogs, cats, rabbits, and goldfish in our care will discover new, profoundly important ethical questions to ponder in Jessica Pierce's book.  With gentle humor, clear compelling language, and always in search of the physically and emotionally healthiest lives possible for our animal companions, Run, Spot, Run moved me all the more because it's written from the inside looking out. Pierce herself lives with three pets and understands the deep urge so many of us feel to connect across species lines."