Up to about a dozen years ago, pets stayed home. I bet you never saw a dog in a store or a restaurant. Today, people want to take their pets everywhere.

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I love dogs.

Just love ‘em.

I believe dogs are one of the most, if not the most, noble of the creatures on Earth. They deserve more than just kibble and a walk around the block. But where do you draw the line on four-legged “plus ones”?

Whenever I’ve had a dog, that dog was walked twice a day, rain or shine. Sometimes those walks were adventures — local mountains, the beach, off leash parks. I talked to those dogs. I’d get down on the floor and have earnest conversations with them. Politics, religion, which sofas are off limits — they seemed to appreciate these chats. In fact, they’d reply. It was entirely usual for the pup to place his paw on my shoulder and sort of yowl a response which I took to be, “You couldn’t be more right, Jane”.

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I cooked for those dogs. Stews laden with carrots, barley, sweet potatoes, and shredded chicken. Yes, human food, which was supplemented by well-researched commercial dog food.

Clementine, the Golden Lab, liked to pick raspberries right off the vine. Peachie, a Heinz 57, loved apple slices. In all of my dogs, the canine instinct of being able to detect the jostling of a lame fowl in underbrush had morphed into an acute ability to detect the faintest rustling of the plastic wrappers on cheese. Even with the stealthiest of removals of cheese from the fridge, there would be a dog at my feet, head cocked, with a steady stare of reproval, “Thought you could get that past me, did you?”

My........

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