Let’s go with “some such thing” :)
As brutal as I can be to a human that deserves it, I treat my little cat buddy Spaghetti with kid gloves.
12 years old and was with me through thick and thin.
It would effectively be over for anyone who hurt my little buddy.
That is funny to me given your previous history in certain circles.
There are probably a lot of people from that walk of life that feel the same way about their pets.