Pets: How much is too much?

Death is part of life and everyone has his or her own coping mechanism for dealing with such a tragedy. Residents of San Francisco take this to the next level: The Presidio of San Francisco Pet Cemetery. Don't get me wrong, I love pets like Kibble (see below) and I'm sure she made a great lap dog. Nevertheless, pets are not humans and in San Francisco -- as is the case in other places as well -- I'm flabbergasted at the degree to which humans treat their pets.

I've beaten to death the phenomenon of dog parks in San Francisco. Whether you're looking to get laid or hoping to fill some seats at a dinner party, you can always find a friend at a dog park -- right after they bend over and pick-up some dog shit. Pets are a great way to meet people; however, when pets replace the need to be in a relationship with another human, this is the slippery slope that makes me skeptical.

I'm not an animal hater. I like dogs and love to ride horses. (See, I'm not a hater.) However, sometimes I find animals serving as the glue binding an otherwise failing relationship or better yet, unlucky attempt at finding a compatible mate in this jungle called life. And yet, as humans, is it necessary that our soul mates be another human? My opinion: yes.

Humans bring to the table something that animals cannot. Life needs to be shared with somebody else -- a human whose level of appreciation stretches beyond tail wagging or licking its caretakers fingers. The problem that arises is that pets fulfill the emotional void in a human-to-human relationship faster, more economically and with less obstacles (potty training being the most difficult). I'm not referring to children here -- which is a whole different scenario -- but more the relationship between a single human and their pet.

Taking this one step farther, there are some people who argue that humans are capable of having an emotional and even physical relationship with an animal. Entirely avoiding the discussion of bestiality, I do think it's possible to have an emotional relationship with a pet, but nothing on the level that which can be achieved in a human relationship. Therefore, while I understand the need to mourn the death of a pet, I do think it's important to keep in mind that a pet is nothing more than a less evolved mammal that hardly deserves the attention it already gets in San Francisco: too much.