Lost Pets -- a Moral Decision
So I'm walking home from the bus through the back alley the other day, and I see a hastily put together poster for a Lost Cat that answers to the name of "Cindy".Now Cindy the Cat has been lost for approximately 5 days at this point and her owners are worried sick about her. If you have any information on Cindy the Cat's whereabouts, you are asked to call XXX-XXXX.
CASH REWARD OFFERED
That last bolded sentence is the most loaded moral question that I have come across in quite some time. This is either an indication that I have a boring life, or that I'm so bored right now (on a break from class) that I can think of nothing else...
More to the point, as a general good-do'r and a fine upstanding citizen of my community, shouldn't it simply be expected that I would NOT take the reward?
I mean, think about it. Chances are that if I "find" Cindy, it's because she has somehow wandered into my back yard after hunting down one of the bazillion jack rabbits or magpies in my community. In other words, she found me and not vice versa... I doubt very much there are people that make their living by actually attempting to FIND a lost pet when they see the advertisements and then collecting the bounty!
So, with Cindy in hand, you have two options. To take the cash reward or not.
1. If you take the reward (remember, at most you've probably just stumbled across the pet), but really haven't done any work, are you TRULY entitled to a reward?
I mean, I suppose there are some caveats here. Maybe you had to feed the pet for a while, as you try to get in contact with the owners. Or maybe the little S.O.B. has crapped in a flower bed or torn out some flowers, or something like that, so you do have out of pocket expenses (to replace the flowers or even your opportunity cost to fixing the place up again).
2. But, if you take the reward, are you risking a social stigma?
I mean, really, who DOES take the reward these days? And, by taking the reward, is it not a signal that you could be that "pyscho" that kidnaps pets and holds out for the ransom...errrr, the reward?
Quite frankly, I'm not prepared to take that risk.
(P.S. It's only Wednesday -- Day 3 of a 5 day course. Depending on how slow things go, you may see more posts like this during the rest of this week)!
posted by Team Shawn Michaels @ 1:04 p.m.
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