of dogs and children
I like to waffle on the subject of children and pets. This isn’t to say that I don’t love them both so much that I just want to bite both of them to express my very joy at their presence but I also really like to make analogous and horrible blanket statements when I’m feeling ____. (Yup, that blank means pretty much all the time.) Therefore, I say things like, “There is no difference between a pet and small children. If your small child is allowed on the lawn so is my dog.” Or, “If you can have children in here, you should be allowed to have dogs in here.” Today was no exception only it was opposite day in my brain so I actually defended small children when I overheard the following, “If I’m not allowed to reach down and pet your baby then you aren’t allowed to reach down and pet my dog.” Sounds like something I would say only it’s not. Here’s the deal: your dog is not your child. I said it. I know it might feel like it. I know I treat my pets exactly as if they were my children but at the end of the day pets are not babies. They have a shorter life-span, they can’t give you blood or an organ if you needed it, and they’re significantly cheaper. Yup. Those are the qualifiers. Push a dog in a stroller and you are still pushing a dog in a stroller. Dress your dog up and you’re still dressing up a dog. Just saying, get a grip. Also, I wouldn’t want to pet your dog. It’s ugly.
