Do we really love our dogs?

Tigers and lions have around 18,000 times less space in zoos than they would in the wild. The high death rate of whales in captivity is a well-known fact. Herpetoculturists often make the mistake of creatively converting old furniture into reptile habitats without taking into account the fact that reptiles often rapidly outgrow them. Within a year or two what was thought to be a roomy structure might become an undersized enclosure.

Dogs, particularly bigger ones, are sometimes faced with a different kind of problem. Some people ask themselves whether their house is big enough for a particular breed. True, there are minimum requirements, depending on a number of factors. But providing adequate spatial conditions is a far cry from what dogs really need. Simply put, it is not a huge house or a big yard that will make your dog happy. What you do need is a big heart and commitment.

And this is what some people just do not have. What do you make of the situation when people who tend to think of themselves as dog-lovers leave their dog unattended in the house every day (never mind the size and other conditions) for as long as ten hours? Next door neighbors who have heard the desperate whining of lonely dogs left alone in a big house ask themselves this question: what is the point of having a dog in the house when the poor creature spends most of the time alone, no interaction, no attention, no nothing?