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| The menu at the Dog Barkery in Belmont, north of Sydney. |
How much do you love your dog? More than you love some other
people in your life? For some the answer is yes, and there are several reasons
as to why that may be. One that rings true, and is mentioned in this article,
is that one tends to have mixed feelings for significant others in one’s life,
whereas we tend to have less complicated relationships with dogs. This is said to me over and over again by clients, distressed about the loss of their pet.
It’s an interesting discussion of the human-animal bond,
including the question of whether we can love animals too much (if you can't go about your daily life because of your attachment to an animal, that would seem to be the case - that said, there are situations when this could happen to any animal owner, for example, nursing a sick pet).
Speaking of loving dogs a bit too much, there’s some
interesting social commentary doing the rounds on social media. Everyone loves
a pet rescue story, but this Amy Schumer clip makes fun of ultra-self-righteous
owners trying to one-up each other with war stories about their rescue pets. As the owner of a rescue dog I did have to laugh, as I do feel a certain satisfaction in knowing Phil was not a pet-shop purchase (at least not by me). Fortunarely I've never been worried about him suffering from pawtism or FOMO.
What do you think about eating animals? According to the
Royal Zoological Society, the practice of eating animals is inextricably linked
with issues of science, sustainability and politics. The production of animal
food products has changed radically over the past century, and there is much
debate about the future of animals as a source of food.
The Royal Zoological Society is hosting a conference
themed Zoology on the Table: the science,
sustainability and politics of eating animals. It’s a one-day conference at
the Australian Museum and promises to raise important issues. For more info or to register, visit here.
