Why can't we get a real dog?

"Daaaad, why can't we get a dog?"

 

"Well son it's like this, they take a lot of caring, they're a big responsibility, they need feeding (this is starting to sound like a job description for Parenthood in general I know), and they need someone to walk them on cold dark winter nights." Hit them hard with the triple mantra of "Dog Health, Dog Grooming and Dog Training" I thought, that will do the trick........

 

So two weeks later we decided to go the local petsmart and take a quick browse "What sort of dog were you looking for sir and what sort of experience have you had with dogs? We will need to take out references and check out where the dog is going to live, whether it is safe." Heck, this was starting to sound like a job interview with the local bank not some search for an abandoned pooch. It would possibly have been easier to pack a suitcase full of cash and hop on the next plane to some third world country and come home with a baby - a contentious view point I know but says more about the shoddy approach to most Intercountry Adoptions but I digress. Five minutes later there I was walking round the inner courtyard of what sounded like canine hell. There is something deeply tragic about the way we treat our pets in this world and unless we stop treating pets and dogs especially with the same disposable mentality that we use when buying our next cheeseburger it is only going to get worse. You can tell I am a dog lover but I have to say I surprise myself that such feeling would be invoked from within me. hmmm..where is my wife...she must have been gone too long since I am starting to lose some senses.