My kids have paws

– A bumper sticker I saw yesterday.

I like dogs, but I think the depth of emotion that people feel towards them is symptomatic of a sick society. The most important relationship in a person’s life should not be with a non-human animal. “Should” is slippery; I mean that a life where that is true is unlikely to be fulfilling. I’m not doubting that dogs can be good companions. In a life totally bereft of human warmth and love they can be a needed solace, a lifeline.

But they are not people, they do not give you the full depth of a relationship with a person, and people who are too attached to their dogs deserve our pity, rather than our support and acceptance.