--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy." description: "\"A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy.\" — Ingrid Newkirk" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/ingrid-newkirk-3962_animal_a-rat-is-a-pig-is-a-dog-is-a-boy-2274687_2274687.png" --- # A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy. ![“A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy.” quote by Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/ingrid-newkirk-3962_animal_a-rat-is-a-pig-is-a-dog-is-a-boy-2274687_2274687.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/ingrid-newkirk-3962_animal_a-rat-is-a-pig-is-a-dog-is-a-boy-2274687_2274687.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/ingrid-newkirk-3962_animal_a-rat-is-a-pig-is-a-dog-is-a-boy-2274687_2274687.png) > “A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy.” [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement groups disparate animals and a human child, suggesting a symbolic equivalence or shared traits among them. **In simple terms:** Animals and a boy are likened to highlight similarity. Key Takeaway Consider how we assign meaning across species. Themes symbolism comparative identity anthropomorphism Mood thoughtful curious Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - education - creative writing - philosophical discussion Key Concepts metaphor categorization Questions to Reflect On - What qualities do you think link these beings? - Is this comparison useful or misleading? A Different Perspective The analogy may oversimplify complex differences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animal - rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-rights/) [Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys/) [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Pigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pigs/) [Rats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rats/) ## Related quotes > [A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy. They're all animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/a-rat-is-a-pig-is-a-dog-is-a-boy-they-re-all-animals/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [An old philosopher said to Monsieur Coignard, a Reverend Father: 'You are a pig!' To which Abad Coignard answered: 'You flatter me, sir. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/an-old-philosopher-said-to-monsieur-coignard-a-reverend-father-you/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [Pigs eat more tuna than all the planet's sharks combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/pigs-eat-more-tuna-than-all-the-planet-s-sharks-combined/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) > [What we must do is start viewing every cow, pig, chicken, monkey, rabbit, mouse, and pigeon as our family members.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-yourofsky/what-we-must-do-is-start-viewing-every-cow-pig-chicken-monkey-rabbit/) [Gary Yourofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-yourofsky/) > [Once people spend time with farm animals in a loving way ... a pig or cow or a little chicken or a turkey, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-silverstone/once-people-spend-time-with-farm-animals-in-a-loving-way-a-pig-or-cow/) [Alicia Silverstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-silverstone/) > [Based on my time living with rats and mice in Washington, D.C., I have always assumed that animals will escape such fires, since their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-friedrich/based-on-my-time-living-with-rats-and-mice-in-washington-d-c-i-have/) [Bruce Friedrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-friedrich/) > [Probably everything we do is a publicity stunt ... we are not here to gather members, to please, to placate, to make friends. We're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/probably-everything-we-do-is-a-publicity-stunt-we-are-not-here-to/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [Even painless research is fascism, supremacism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/even-painless-research-is-fascism-supremacism/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [Would I rather the research lab that tests animals is reduced to a bunch of cinders? Yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/would-i-rather-the-research-lab-that-tests-animals-is-reduced-to-a/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [Pet ownership is an absolutely abysmal situation brought about by human manipulation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/pet-ownership-is-an-absolutely-abysmal-situation-brought-about-by/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [I find that as I get older I seem to become more of a Luddite... And hearing animal experimenters describe me as a Luddite--which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/i-find-that-as-i-get-older-i-seem-to-become-more-of-a-luddite-and/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > […we would like an end to pet shops and the breeding of animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/we-would-like-an-end-to-pet-shops-and-the-breeding-of-animals/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [Six million Jews died in concentration camps, but six billion broiler chickens will die this year in slaughter houses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/six-million-jews-died-in-concentration-camps-but-six-billion-broiler/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [Humans have grown like a cancer. We're the biggest blight on the face of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/humans-have-grown-like-a-cancer-we-re-the-biggest-blight-on-the-face/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [A burning building doesnt help melt peoples hearts, but times change and tactics, Im sure, have to change with them. If you choose to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/a-burning-building-doesnt-help-melt-peoples-hearts-but-times-change/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) ## More by Ingrid Newkirk > [When it comes to having a central nervous system, and the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, a rat is a pig is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/when-it-comes-to-having-a-central-nervous-system-and-the-ability-to/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [We all have prejudices to dispel: the need to get away from thinking that 'I' am important and special and 'you' are not, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/we-all-have-prejudices-to-dispel-the-need-to-get-away-from-thinking/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [The extinction of Homo Sapiens would mean survival for millions, if not billions, of Earth-dwelling species. Phasing out the human race will solve every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/the-extinction-of-homo-sapiens-would-mean-survival-for-millions-if/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [Pet ownership is slavery. Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or be entertained by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/pet-ownership-is-slavery-animals-are-not-ours-to-eat-wear-experiment/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [Perhaps measuring animal intelligence by comparing it to human intelligence isn't the best litmus test.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/perhaps-measuring-animal-intelligence-by-comparing-it-to-human/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [One hates to be absolute, but in my view, there is no such thing as humane meat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/one-hates-to-be-absolute-but-in-my-view-there-is-no-such-thing-as/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [It's interesting that one of the definitions of the word 'human' is 'sympathetic.' More and more people are beginning to show that they understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/it-s-interesting-that-one-of-the-definitions-of-the-word-human-is/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > […we would like an end to pet shops and the breeding of animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/we-would-like-an-end-to-pet-shops-and-the-breeding-of-animals/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [Never doubt that one person can make a difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/never-doubt-that-one-person-can-make-a-difference/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [Probably everything we do is a publicity stunt ... we are not here to gather members, to please, to placate, to make friends. We're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/probably-everything-we-do-is-a-publicity-stunt-we-are-not-here-to/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [The bottom line is that people dont have the right to manipulate or to breed dogs and cats ... If people want toys, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/the-bottom-line-is-that-people-dont-have-the-right-to-manipulate-or/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [Even painless research is fascism, supremacism, because the act of confinement is traumatizing in itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/even-painless-research-is-fascism-supremacism-because-the-act-of/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [All of us in society are supposed to believe that cruelty to animals is wrong and that it is a good thing to prevent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/all-of-us-in-society-are-supposed-to-believe-that-cruelty-to-animals/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [I think if you're against cruelty and you look at what happens to animals in slaughterhouses and on factory farms, you have to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/i-think-if-you-re-against-cruelty-and-you-look-at-what-happens-to/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [Humans have grown like a cancer. We're the biggest blight on the face of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/humans-have-grown-like-a-cancer-we-re-the-biggest-blight-on-the-face/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) [Explore all 118 Ingrid Newkirk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ingrid Newkirk" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/a-rat-is-a-pig-is-a-dog-is-a-boy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/a-rat-is-a-pig-is-a-dog-is-a-boy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/ingrid-newkirk-3962_animal_a-rat-is-a-pig-is-a-dog-is-a-boy-2274687_2274687.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/ingrid-newkirk-3962_animal_a-rat-is-a-pig-is-a-dog-is-a-boy-2274687_2274687.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/ingrid-newkirk-3962_animal_a-rat-is-a-pig-is-a-dog-is-a-boy-2274687_2274687.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy.” — Ingrid Newkirk", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ingrid Newkirk", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A rat is a pig is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/a-rat-is-a-pig-is-a-dog-is-a-boy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/a-rat-is-a-pig-is-a-dog-is-a-boy/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```