But they really don't. What does a dog NEED? Water, food, love, vet care and exercise. What does a rabbit/ferret/guinea pig/hamster/sugar glider/whatever NEED? Water, food, love, vet care and exercise. Anything other than that is a luxury, not a need.
They need the same things, but I would argue that they do not need those things in the same amounts. My bird gets the exact same things as my dog - good food, vet care, exercise, stimulation. But she is old, a small parrot, and she does not require the same amount of time that my dog does. In fact, she is out of her cage most of the day but doing her own things because she just isn't that friendly. I spend much more time out of my day interacting with and providing for my dog than I do her. They both live nice lives and are happy though.
By the large, dog owners (myself included) are hypocritical, and I've been seeing it more and more, the more involved with other rescues I get. They don't blink an eye at somebody shoving a guinea pig in a cage way too small for 23 hours a day, but hear about somebody sticking their dog in a small crate for 23 hours a day and they are yelling abuse. That guinea pig is just as not happy as that dog is, yet it's fine to do for a guinea pig (or rabbit or hamster or ferret or whatever). It's not just dogs that need that human interaction. Hej, Wedgey *really* pushed that into my mind.
Shoving a GP in a cage that is too small for it is wrong. The GP needs a proper sized cage to be happy. I don't disagree with you in that regard, and I *hate* when people don't provide for an animal what it needs. However, that is a totally different argument. On a fundamental level, pets need the same things - love, vet care, exercise, a good diet, etc. But there is no way that a leopard gecko or a hamster needs me to take an hour and a half out of my day to hike him on the local dog trails lol. Of course they need stimulation and exercise, but it is unreasonable (imo) to say that all animals are equal in the amount of time/money they typically need (and for money I am thinking more along the line of fish, because I vet all my other animals lol).
I mean, even among dogs the amount of things they "need" varies. My retriever mix Tucker was happy with 30 minutes of exercise a day, and lounging around the house for the other 23.5 hours
That was enough for him to be happy and healthy. Spy needs way more of my time to be happy (walking and mental stimulation) and is much more demanding and time consuming.
If I was a busier person, I would opt for more of a Tucker type dog than a Spy type because yeah, Tucker really does require less than Spy does to be happy. If I was time constrained and felt I didn't have the space for a dog but wanted a pet, I might look into getting some hermit crabs.
Maybe this is more of a debate about what less care means. I don't disagree that animals require the same basic things, but when I think of less care I think of less demanding and needy. Less care =/= less value, to me.