I think the point is not that it is “a” dog but that it is “your” dog. One puts a lot of self into a pet, it provides quiet consolation, cheerful companionship and we project onto our pets a lot. The loss of a pet often represents the end of an era since often a pet is the one constant over a number of years. People may have a dog when their children are small and then the children go off to college and only the dog is left as continuity. In such a case, or similar ones, when the dog dies it is the closing of a door on an era of our lives and it is profound. This even happens with inanimate objects, like when we load the last load on a moving truck and see the house empty, the one we shared dinners and holidays over the years with loved ones, some of them now long gone. Things, people, places, pets, events have meaning beyond themselves in symbolic ways. It is the human experience, or at least I should say, more accurately it is my human experience.
You’re wasting your time.
Your sentiments reflect all but a few on this thread. Thank you.
Largely true. But we all draw the line in different places: dogs, cats, chinchillas, rabbits, parrots, parakeets, hamsters, etc. Heck, I remember how much crying and sadness there was amongst some folks about a bunch of old trees being harvested. For me, I’m more prone to wild garanimals. The story about the eagle in Alaska picking off the RV tourist lady’s toy poodle still gives me a chuckle....especially since the husband was reported to have been high-fiving the gas station attendant.