Commentary: How Dogs Replaced Children in Italy

Channel News Asia ^ | 18 Aug 2025 | Amy Kazmin

[daniel1212]

There are more dogs in America than children.

There are more households with pets than with children.

Rachael: "Give me children or I die." (Genesis 30:1)

Western women: Don't give me children or they will die.

Nearly 45 percent of women aged 15 to 49 were childless between 2017 and 2019,

Jan 12, 2023 nearly half of American women under 45 are childless, New York Post

Jul 26, 2024About 47% of U.S. adults younger than 50 without kids polled

[thegagline]

America was a better place when our population was 190 million as opposed to the 340 million today.

[Brian Griffin]

Italian children are treated well. I was in Italy earlier this year.

As for dogs, Barcelona has the best I’ve seen.

[Veto!]

Sounds like an excellent place. We should all be lucky enough to have one like that.

I always have someone come in to take care of my spoiled rotten cat when I’m gone. Already made arrangements with a trusted friend to come in when I take a trip at the end of October. Yes, I pay her.

I left Daisy Cat at a boarding kennel a few miles away when I took a weeklong trip several years ago. Hard on the cat, she’s happier at home. Plus, getting her into her crate is like WW3.

Daughter is coming with me in October. She has 4 dogs. Two Corgis, a Labradoodle who likes to run away, sometimes for hours, and a wonderful big mutt. She’s leaving them with a friend who lives 10 miles away and has a big fenced yard. Her most recent highly reccomended dog sitter was terrible, let the dogs get skunked.

[mairdie]

I’ve had good and bad experiences with people coming in to take care of my cats. I hired the next door neighbor daughter of a policeman, came home early and found my home trashed. Filthy kitty litter with all the weekly litter changes undone. Cigarette butts and beer cans - bare 78 records littering the stairs.

On the other hand, the neighbor across the way took care of the cats when we went on our RV trip, which lasted longer than expected because husband became terrified of driving the huge thing and it was a struggle to get us home. Total gratitude to that heroine for putting up with us.

Wonderful to hear you’ll get your daughter for a while. Skunks are clever critters and it’s hard to get thru life without at least one of your dogs having to be dosed in tomato juice. Until I set up the night feeding station under my window, I had no idea that skunks were sociable with other animals. They’ll eat within inches of another species with no problems as long as the food is plentiful.