My wife was talking to a fellow dog-walker at the park this morning. The woman asked her, among other things, does she work, and my wife said no.
That was good, the woman replied, because it really raises her hackles when people buy a dog and then leave it alone all day while they’re at work.
What an astounding statement!
I can’t even remember the last time I heard anyone — other than myself — express the view that working moms have a bad effect on kids, let alone dogs.
It reminded me of this: It’s not uncommon to drive through my neighborhood and have an unsupervised kid fly out in front of you on a bike, a skateboard, or on foot, and yet I’ve never seen an unattended dog running around.
Draw your own conclusions, but if your conclusion is that a lot of people are more concerned about their pets than about their kids, I don’t think you’d be too far off the mark . . .