I recently came across a discussion on social media about how people refer to pets and what this says about their ability to respect the animal’s needs. The discussion shifted to how people define themselves in their relationship with their pets, and it became quite heated. While some saw no problem with using the term pet parent, others considered it problematic for imposing a human framework onto the animal.

This type of debate is understandable, as it raises legitimate concerns about the well-being of animals and their place in our lives. However, what concerns me in these discussions is when people assume that the terminology speaks for itself. In this sense, they often assume that the language pet guardians use to define themselves has a fixed meaning for everyone. The question this discussion raised for me: Can we really understand how people relate to their pets and to what extent they respect the animal’s needs by asking what terminology........

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