Once again I’m compelled to write because of something I read in The New York Times. The Sunday Magazine has a long article about “designer dogs.” This paragraph in particular caught my attention:
“Over the last decade, the industry has devised an almost Jetsonian, automated existence for our dogs, and the outpouring of products alone suggests how eager we have been to resolve a number of curious problems. Dogs can be attended by timed, refrigerated feeders and water fountains, monitored by Webcam or consoled through PetsCell cellular telephones around their necks. Cutout kitchen doggie doors were good, but new doggie doors — like the motorized Power Pet, triggered by a sensor in the dog’s collar — are better, since homeowners worried thieves might shimmy through. The Power Pet slides up and swiftly deadbolts shut again (“Your pet will think it’s on the Starship Enterprise!” the manufacturer claims), permitting dogs to safely exit and relieve themselves, perhaps on the specialty sod patches now replenished each week by delivery services. Small dogs are increasingly being litter-trained. Minefields of mildly electrified mats keep curious ones off of furniture.”
Delivered sod patches???
And then, of course, they have managed to unite the once incompatible realms of museum-style decorating and dog-loving: “Dedicated breeders have shrunk the Alaskan husky into a raccoonlike throw pillow, breeding it true and naming it the Alaskan Klee Kai.” You take the animal that Jack London famously followed through the northern wilderness and you turn it into a throw pillow?
Erin
Alan Schmierer
To be fair… the sod patches really aren’t that crazy. There are a lot of reasons why people are training dogs on puppy pads, litter boxes, etc. For example, Mark and I live on a 2nd floor apartment with a little balcony, and we realize there is a good possibility that our dog might not always have a nice little patch of grass to do her business on in the future. Also, pets make great companions for the elderly, who often live in apartments and aren’t mobile enough to take their dogs outside, and these allow them the ability to have a pet.
Though we don’t have a sod patch that we replace for a lot of money, we DO have a crazy piece of astroturf that has a porous bottom, and we have 2 plastic backed puppy pads underneath them. We rinse it out once a month. I know, its gross… but now our dog can go potty outside, and we’re not worried about trying to re-train her in 2 years (she’s not very bright), but she’s not confused when we go to our parents house. Also, she just wasn’t smart enough to catch on to the puppy pad concept because they looked too much like regular carpet. And it wasn’t really that expensive.
That being said… the craze with dog purses, diamond dog collars, etc. is getting out of hand. Especially since you know that some of these celebrities have only one relationship, and that’s with their mirror (except Christian Slater, of course). Most of these products are for people who want the convenience (and luxury?) of having pets without ever actually taking care of them and giving them the attention they deserve. And that’s the real tragedy!
Alright, I’ll stop writing and sounding more and more like a “crazy dog person” (which I am).
Besides, we all know pets are simply an emergency source of food.
I could not agree more with Ryan. We have a very small dog and that is precisely why we purchased a 7 quart crockpot. If all else fails… stewed dog meat for dinner.