I have been observing the same for a few years now. First was a woman in her 60’s who referred to her single son’s german shepard as her “grandchild”. Then, my husband works with a man who had a couple of corgis who he referred to as his “son” and his “daughter”. My husband said to me that when he talked about his dogs,he(hubby) felt “icky”.
Yes, I know a woman that call her dog a baby and a man that has his two boys that go everywhere he goes. Saw a guy headed to rolling thunder, had a dog in a bag like contraption on the back of his bike and the dog had his/her own goggles???? I called up and made an appointment to have my eyes checked. Sure are a lot of fruit cakes out there.
I work with childless, husbandless women that refer to their dogs as their children (and one of them bears a striking resemblance to her pet). These freaks take off for days when their “children” die (regardless of what’s happening in the real world), and are always vocally opposed to any company picnic.
They are the last vestiges of post-Christianity America, and are being displaced by Latino immigrants and those Americans that value children. In fifty years all that will be left are a string of abandoned pet cemeteries. FWIW, I love animals so much I think humans should leave them be; my wife’s family is Spanish, and they don’t have a word for “pet”.
I side with your husband. I think it is nauseating when people refer to their dogs as their “grandchildren” or refer to themselves as “mommy” and “daddy” to their dogs.
The mother of a friend of mine often referred to her dog as my friend’s “brother.” Granted, the lady was an elderly Episcopalian, and they’re famously ditzy. But still...my friend was not amused.
Well, I’m guilty too and I refuse to see it as all that horrible. We all wanted grandchildren but it didn’t happen. Now I have two precious granddogs and they are adorable.
So sue me, or whatever .