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Stray Dogs Deserve Back Rubs
San Francisco Chronicle ^
| 1/14/5
| Mark Morford
Posted on 01/14/2005 9:53:29 AM PST by SmithL
We kill millions of pets every year
Who cares if a few get posh shelters and humane laws?
OK. So I tend to think people who insist on calling themselves pet "guardians" instead of "owners" are exasperating and a bit wrongheaded, and that such uber-PC thinking does almost nothing to change or improve the behavior of the thousands of animal abusers in this country.
And I tend to agree with fabulous dog writer Jon Katz that such semantic sidestepping does more harm to the animals than good, and leads to naive treatment, lack of decent training and an outright ignorance of the creature's very cool dogness.
What about all those new ultra-posh pet boutiques and the concomitant trend toward the wild overpampering of our "companion" animals? Silly if not outright depressing, really, given how we appear to be projecting ourselves, our desires and habits and need for intimate TLC, onto an animal that really couldn't care less.
Further, I think the shift toward treating dogs and cats as full-blown family members, as surrogate kids or surrogate mates or surrogate babies, is even worse, as we are loading up our animals with far too much emotional liability and psychological complexity, granting a completely unique species an impossible array of human traits and emotional responses they don't have or need or understand, which then only causes stress and resentment and chewed shoes and deeper personal depression as you, the "guardian," slowly realize the dog can't have meaningful sex with you or take you to dinner or help decorate the Christmas tree or talk to you calmly about just what the hell is going on with your hair.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
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MORFORDITE ALERT!You've been warned.
And he doesn't attack the president until something like the eigth paragraph.
1
posted on
01/14/2005 9:53:30 AM PST
by
SmithL
To: SmithL
...fabulous dog writer Jon Katz...
Is that a joke?
2
posted on
01/14/2005 9:56:36 AM PST
by
brownsfan
(Post No Bills)
To: brownsfan
To: SmithL
"very cool dogness"???
WTF?
4
posted on
01/14/2005 9:59:03 AM PST
by
camle
(keep your mind open and somebody will fill it with something for you))
To: SmithL
Well... on the positive side, this is a refreshing change of pace from the article about a neighbor knocking a dog's teeth out with a shovel, to the other extreme.
There is a nugget of reality here in the role pets play in our lives, the great unwashed middle who are simply grateful to share an amusing life, which usually is simply an animated and primitively thinking teddy bear, no more and no less.
5
posted on
01/14/2005 10:00:52 AM PST
by
Publius6961
(The most abundant things in the universe are hydrogen, ignorance and stupidity.)
To: SmithL
Are there more homeless people or homeless pets? Who gets treated better?
6
posted on
01/14/2005 10:01:33 AM PST
by
handy old one
(Never confuse the facts with the issues!!)
Comment #7 Removed by Moderator
To: Howlin; Ed_NYC; MonroeDNA; widgysoft; Springman; Timesink; dubyaismypresident; Grani; coug97; ...
She loves dogs, eh?
Just damn.
If you want on the list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...
8
posted on
01/14/2005 10:03:44 AM PST
by
mhking
(Do not mess with dragons, for thou art crunchy & good with ketchup...)
To: SmithL
the thousands of animal abusers in this country
9
posted on
01/14/2005 10:08:01 AM PST
by
Puppage
(You may disagree with what I have to say, but I shall defend to your death my right to say it.)
To: SmithL
...slowly realize the dog can't have meaningful sex with you...Sounds like there's a whole lot about this guy's relationship with his pets I don't need to know about. < /gag >
10
posted on
01/14/2005 10:09:52 AM PST
by
Still Thinking
(Disregard the law of unintended consequences at your own risk.)
To: handy old one
Are there more homeless people or homeless pets? Who gets treated better?I haven't heard of 5 million homeless being euthanized yearly. Does that answer the question? I offer no further thoughts on the comparison.
11
posted on
01/14/2005 10:11:56 AM PST
by
Publius6961
(The most abundant things in the universe are hydrogen, ignorance and stupidity.)
To: Publius6961
12
posted on
01/14/2005 10:15:39 AM PST
by
handy old one
(Never confuse the facts with the issues!!)
To: SmithL
A BACKRUB LIKE THIS?
To: SmithL
Yep. Rub them pooches good. Tenderises 'em for the BBQ.
14
posted on
01/14/2005 10:25:57 AM PST
by
pissant
To: SmithL; presidio9; Slings and Arrows; Glenn; quantim; republicangel; Bahbah; Beaker; ...
With friends like this...
For those of you who have never read Morford, this is probably the sanest and most coherent thing he's ever written*. You've been warned.
[*Those who have read Morford before interpret this to mean he ran out of herbal inspiration before finishing his column.]
---
Kitty Ping List alert!
[Freepmail me to get on or off the Kitty Ping List.]
15
posted on
01/14/2005 10:27:35 AM PST
by
Slings and Arrows
("The Internet, where men are men, women are men, and little girls are FBI agents..." --Anon.)
To: SmithL
My dogs prefer a butt scratch {clarification: above the tail} to a back rub any day : )
To: FrankWild
She's up her dosage as the Inauguration looms.
17
posted on
01/14/2005 11:23:20 AM PST
by
presidio9
(Islam is as Islam does)
To: Still Thinking
LOL, it sounds like the dog didn't call and didn't write...you know, after...
18
posted on
01/14/2005 11:48:32 AM PST
by
Sender
(Team Infidel USA)
To: Sender
Yeah, you know how it is, the dog just gives love to get sex...
19
posted on
01/14/2005 11:56:19 AM PST
by
Still Thinking
(Disregard the law of unintended consequences at your own risk.)
To: ravingnutter
Coincidently, Morford prefers those who pay more physical attention to her butt.
20
posted on
01/15/2005 2:34:38 PM PST
by
presidio9
(Islam is as Islam does)
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