It is rather sad she flipped like this, though. And reading her posts…God, it’s like she got bent and was in denial all this time. Especially reading her book I’m really wondering if it was just some stage in her life where she got political and eventually got over it (like so many of my “die hard” liberal friends from university, heh).

Helloooooo! Wake-up call!!

Even if I understand worries about loneliness in old age, I have never been more determined than now about my own choice to be CF.

After some recent climbing, the fence is gone for good! And I will not get a dog.

Just when I was about to finally get around to buying her book, too!! Why does she have to go out and make herself a mommy type for her dog? I have a dog, a shih-tzu, whom I love dearly. He’s a dog, I know he’s a dog, and while I adore him, there’s no delusions about him being a baby. Of course she cares for her pet, if she didn’t, she wouldn’t be a good pet owner. Human beings grow attached to, and love, their pets but it can be too much.

It sounds to me like this once-advocate for the childfree should have perhaps given more thought to her decision. How sad, really. I feel for her, if only because she seems to be trying to fill a void in her life that the truly childfree shouldn’t have in the first place.

She lost me at, “I hate leaving Chula to go to work in the morning. I feel guilty if I feel she’s short of exercise. I worry that she won’t eat vegetables.” Look, lady, you can feel guilty if your dog hasn’t been walked properly, but hating to leave her? Worried about her eating vegetables? What. The. Fuck.

One of my pet peeves about dog ownership in general is anthopomorphism. That’s imbuing animals with human characteristics and it’s not only stupid, it’s dangerous. Dogs aren’t people and in even the most loving and caring relationship, the dog is always aware of any behaviour that might indicate a chance to climb higher up the ladder. Dogs need socialization and obedience training, not blissful odes to their charming idiosyncracies. (Guess you’ve all figured out by now that I hated Marley and Me with a blistering passion)

How many stories have the dog-inclined among us heard about “ickle Poopsie didn’t like the groomer, no she didn’t and when it was time for Poopsie’s nails to be cut, she nipped the girl – Poopsie hates to be handled roughly!” Read: Poopsie took a HUGE fucking chunk out of a girl’s hand because she had the temerity to lift Poopsie’s paw up for nail clipping.

I hope to Dog that Defago knows the difference between loving/adoring Chula and treating her like a baby. Because Chula is half Jack Russell Terrier; a breed of near-inexhaustible energy and a HIGH dominance streak. If Defago isn’t keeping the baby crap confined to her keyboard, one day Chula may well take a chunk out of her or out of one of the kids Defago is so happily identifying her with.

Hi there! It’s Chris from the CF list…the one from Cleveland. I’m glad to see you read and post here too!

As for the article about dogs and kids — I have recently had a few experiences that shape my view on this. The last week in February, my wife and I dog-sat for her sister and family while they vacationed. I loved watching the dog, taking her for walks, etc., and my wife and I decided that a dog would be a good thing to have. (Haven’t gotten one yet, but looking!)

By contrast, I have an extremely bratty nephew that makes me cringe whenever I hear he will be coming over. The difference between how I feel toward the dog and the nephew is like night and day. One relaxes and cheers me, the other inspires dread and anxiety.

To me, even the healthiest, most-well-behaved child causes ten time more stress than a dog. To insinuate that a dog is a “practice baby” or that if you like dogs, you’ll like kids is foolish and dangerous. Any pets or children such a person has is likely to suffer from this delusion.

Britgirl: Thanks for posting all of these articles and links, and stimulating discussion! This is one of the best CF blogs/sites I have visited.

The thing about pets, dogs, cats, birds, whatever, is that (a) they become adults much faster than human children and (b) their reactions are keyed to many things we can’t even sense.

I love the difference. It’s a lot more like living with aliens from another planet than it is with surrogate children. You really have to make allowances for the things that interest or frighten them. It is not an automatic understanding, the way it can be with another person. And I never see reflections of myself in my cats!

I feel sorry for DeFago’s dog. It’s allowed to have caffeine and pick up stray chicken bones? She doesn’t understand the animal’s needs at all.

I’m betting she’ll be the proud parent of another obnoxious human ‘pet’ within 5 years. Any takers?

Pet = Not child

It’s sad if she thinks she’s “just another parent”. Her article actually showed how little she actually knows about parenting, making her another target. I no longer think of her as childfree. Perhaps a book is on the way… I didn’t think of that actually. If she gets pregnant I wonder for the dog too.