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Re:The Child-Like Role of Dogs in Western Societies by creata on Monday June 09, 2025 @11:10AM (#44225291)
I don't think most people using silly terms like "pet parents" are actually conflating parenthood with caring for a pet.
Re:The Child-Like Role of Dogs in Western Societies by afavour on Monday June 09, 2025 @11:31AM (#44225513)
Not most but there definitely is a weird subculture out there.

The /r/petfree subreddit is hysterical in the opposite direction at times but there is some fascinating content on there sometimes. An example: a social media post of someone mourning their child's death, folks commenting about the death of their pets as if it were comparable:

https://www.reddit.com/r/petfree/comments/1kzlt3o/people_arg...

> My three year old killed by a drunk driver. A lady said I know how you feel, my dog died last year

> Idk about you but I loved my dogs more than anything. I felt guilty for a long time bc I sobbed for days after each was put down but didn't cry at my cousin or grandfather's funeral

> I loved my dog and mom exactly the same, and their deaths both felt the same

> It's been scientifically proven that a dog death can effect you more than a human one

Re:The Child-Like Role of Dogs in Western Societies by absurdo on Monday June 09, 2025 @12:33PM (#44226204)
Why would someone go out of their way to make r/petfree to demonize pet owners is beyond me. But hey, that’s the internet nowadays I guess. Rage fueled machine.
Re:The Child-Like Role of Dogs in Western Societies by afavour on Monday June 09, 2025 @01:53PM (#44227111)
Well, I'd imagine they'd do it because they are frustrated with pet owners. Half the content on that sub is people bringing their dogs to places dogs shouldn't go and I share a frustration with that. I'm not about to curate an entire community dedicated to it, but still.
Re:The Child-Like Role of Dogs in Western Societies by nkrisc on Monday June 09, 2025 @11:14AM (#44225328)
I don’t know what percentage are sincere about it, but I have absolutely heard it used in advertising in ways that seemed completely straight-faced.
Re:The Child-Like Role of Dogs in Western Societies by neutronicus on Monday June 09, 2025 @11:32AM (#44225524)
People have pretty strong motivation to conflate the two - namely, access to privileges traditionally granted to parents.

Leaving work early to deal with kid(/dog) stuff, public spaces tolerating the presence of your loud, annoying, not-that-clean kid(/dog), an expectation of urban spaces providing places for your kid(/dog) to go to the bathroom. Etc.