Pet Parents

Years ago, I worked with an older guy who loved dogs, had dogs his whole life, his parents had dogs before he was born

Several times a few of the women he was dating said to him to choose between her and the dogs and he chose the dogs

(That had to be a gut punch to the ego. HER: "It's me or the dogs" HIM-A split second later "Dogs. Have a nice life")

He hated people who hurt or mistreated dogs

When he was looking to rent an apartment, he didn't care how perfect the place was, how unbelievable the rent was, no dogs, no deal

He had dogs die. Some of old age, some of disease, one was hit by a car. He bawled his eyes out every time

This man LOVED his dogs

All that said, it would never occur to him to refer to his dogs as his children, or to himself as a 'Dog Dad'

If a friend asked him not to bring his dog to his dinner party he said okay, and didn't flip out and end the friendship

He thought that people who did so had a screw loose

And he thought that the people who threw birthday parties for their pet, complete with cake and presents, and even inviting people (with printed invitations!) were certifiable

Like I said this was years ago, when "Pet Parent" was just starting to gain traction. It's definitely a thing now

What are your thoughts on it?

I'm not in the full on hater camp, but I'm definitely in the 'it's weird camp"

I was having a conversation with a woman about her 'kids', and I swear it took 5 minutes before it became clear she wasn't talking about human children. I'm sure the look on my face was priceless