An interesting article in Slate today about the intensities of peoples’ affection for their dogs. How affection for a dog can separate a person from other people, teach them to trust other people again, or provide a safe substitute for people that have let them down or a surrogate for the child or partner they never had. The author seems to conclude that it’s all ok as long as you keep it in perspective.

I usually just tell myself that my overspending and silly pet mom behavior is acceptable as long as I don’t start cooking the barf diet. That’s when I’ve crossed the line.

Last year I listened to a 2000 show of This American Life with a similar theme. There was a couple where one partner was jealous because the other partner seemed to pour all the love and attention into their cat. And one of my favorite Dave Sedaris stories called “The Youth in Asia”. Does that one have Machen as well or is that a different story?

Neither the article nor the show mentioned a program that lots of prisons and detention centers have adopted which has the inmate training therapy, seeing eye, different service dogs. Most even seem to be following the New Skete Monks’ training method wherein the dogs live full-time with the prisoners in their cell. Most prisoners have become calmer, more trusting people because in many cases the dogs showed them unconditional love for the first time. Animal Planet has a fairly new series chronicling these programs in different prisons called Cell Dogs. Give me heartstring television over scary mean people anytime.