Although I'm fond of dogs, I still find this repellent:
'Organic wok-tossed salmon pasta with a doggie cappuccino' - am I channelling one of my grimmer Church of Scotland forebears (I'm not actually sure that I had any, by the way) or is this just wrong, wrong, wrong?
It's just wrong wrong, wrong. When our cats get up on the table we hurl them off into their cardboard box in the corner with one mighty forehand sweep. A 'doggie cappuccino' sounds like Strine slang for something rather repellent.
ReplyDeleteAnd I bet those cats love you all the more for that forehand sweep. And, yes, now you mention it, a 'doggie cappuccino' sounds even worse than I'd originally thought. The thing that REALLY appalled me though was the fact the poor salmon being wasted on this enterprise was so-called 'organic', (whatever organic means, to paraphrase Prince Charles).
ReplyDeleteThings like this make me wonder whether our civilisation deserves to collapse.
ReplyDeleteSteinbeck said, in TRAVELS WITH CHARLLEY, that he had a notion that dogs would rather be treated as first class dogs than as second class humans. Years later, Cesar Milan is saying the same thing. He groups dog owners into two categories: "dog lovers" (those who feed their dogs cappuccinos, etc.) and "dog people" (those who treat their dogs as first class dogs). I agree with you 100%.
ReplyDeleteGaw - your comment suggests you think that prospect is pretty likely; that it's merely a question of whether it's a good thing or not, rather than whether it can be avoided. Was it New York that put you in such a gloomy frame of mind?
ReplyDeleteChris - that's a great bit of Steinbeck. I shall have to look up Cesar Milan, who is new to me.
Z, it's the dogs. They're getting such a sense of entitlement I think they might just take over.
ReplyDeleteCesar Milan is a Los Angeles-based "dog psychologist" who claims to train humans rather than dogs. He has a TV show called "The Dog Whisperer." His way with dogs appears miraculous, but it just comes from an understanding of their behavior and psychology. Really fascinating. He has written a few books, too.
ReplyDeleteOf course, on the internet nobody knows you're a dog (must pop out for a bark now)
ReplyDeleteIt's things like this that give "dog people" (thanks Chris for this distinction) a bad name. I love dogs too, but she (poodle too, I have to admit, but that was for allergy reasons) is in the end a dog and lives a dog's life, albeit a nice one, but a dog's life nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteSadly, many people in our neighbourhood go to the other extreme - getting a dog and then neglecting it, resulting in a choir of melancholy barking much of the time.
ReplyDelete