In "The Truth About Dogs", Steven Budiansky makes the case that dogs are essentially a successful parasite. Harsh? Perhaps, but his argument provides a lot of insight into the human-pet relationship.
A successful parasite is one that takes advantage of a mechanism in the host that the host cannot live without. (If the host could live without the mechanism, the selection pressure from the cost of the parasite would slowly extinguish the required mechanism.)
Pets fit this criteria - they get us 30-somethings with our ticking biological clocks that have been snoozed for year after a year to devote our important resources (read: food) to pets instead of our own offspring. Fortunately pet food is pretty cheap. It's a good thing the pets don't have a taste for filet mignon.
I think Lori and I may be infected: we can spend hours babbling about how good the pets are and how sleepy they get. Perhaps the parasitic infection is melting our brains?
Anyway, what follows can be thought of as a chronic condition.
I am in your office paying your billz! Can haz stamps?
Corporate-espionage-kitteh is stealin your secretz.
(Without our kodez u is 2 yearz behind us. With our kodez u is 4 yearz behind us!)
I can haz kitteh?
Apartment-kat sez: upstairz neighbor is makin too much noize!
O hai...big sister, you is good pillow.
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