NYT: "The boundaries between humans and animals have been so eaten away by pet therapists, pet designer outfits and pet bar mitzvahs, that it has reached a point where devoted owners, who treat their animals as privileged children, lose all perspective on the pet’s role in their social lives."
Great opening anecdote. We take Luna to my sister's house for Thanksgiving, but that's only because she's invited.
Previously: "I love her so much precisely because she is a dog: to anthropomorphize her would be to waste an opportunity."
Up here in God's country, northern Jersey, the Mall at Short Hills (don't call it the Short Hills Mall) stages a Santa Paws night, where people can bring their pets and get their picture taken on Santa's lap. talk about anthropomorphizing . . .
Posted by: newk | Dec 13, 2007 at 01:41 PM
The money quote:
"Ari Henry Barnes, who works in a New York law firm, is so devoted to his cat, Romeo, that he wipes the animal’s behind every time he does 'a stinky boom boom.'"
Why am I laughing so hard at Ari?
Posted by: Brian Clarey | Dec 13, 2007 at 03:23 PM
Hey, what's wrong with dogs posing with Santa? (scroll down for photo)
Actually, one of the thing I enjoy about Cesar Millan's show is that he teaches dog owners how to treat their dogs as dogs, not people. It makes the dogs and the people happier.
Posted by: David Wharton | Dec 13, 2007 at 05:15 PM
I'm all for hygiene, but it is flat out depressing that I share an uncommon first name with Ari Henry Barnes. This guy is dangerous -- wasn't the avian flu spread by people who had similarly apalling contact with roosters (though they were clearly not "animal devotees" in the same sense as Ari Henry Barnes)?
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-05-03-thailand-bird-flu_x.htm
Posted by: ari medoff | Dec 13, 2007 at 07:17 PM