Dogs and Us -- Is It Getting Just a Little Bit Strange?

I saw a tweet today casting a new US cable reality show about obese pets -- basically The Biggest Loser for dogs. It started me thinking, where on earth are we headed with our pets? Aka fur babies. That now common term tells a story in itself.

Doggy day spas, pet resorts (if you remember they were once called boarding kennels, you're really old), pet travel agencies, dog cafés (would you care for a bone biscotti, madam?), doggy lawyers -- and by that I mean lawyers whose clients are dogs... I don't know; is it all getting a bit weird?

I think it is. I think we've started to make a fetish out of Fido. Throwing him birthday parties, dressing him up for the holidays, organizing doggy weddings. Do you have any idea how many dogs have their own Twitter accounts? Lots.

What is all this saying about us? What is missing in our lives that we're so utterly humanizing our dogs? They're not just family pets any more, they're substitute humans.

It's sort of understandable in a way, dogs offer us unconditional, uncritical love. Very few humans, even the ones who genuinely love us, will offer the same devotion.

But why can't we love our dogs and just let them be dogs? Who have a collar and lead instead of a tutu or a bomber jacket. Who sleep on their own bed on the floor and not in our bed? Who eat raw meat and bones, not gourmet pooch pate out of an overpriced can?

I don't really know and I can't help wondering -- at some point, is it all going to end in tears?

What do you think?