I have an offer to make for you.\u00a0 You’ll be permitted to go outside occasionally, but (1) you have to ask permission and (b) you have to stay within the perimeter of my property.\u00a0 Occasionally, I will play games or snuggle up with you.\u00a0 I’ll probably force you to wear a collar, and I’ll ask that you do a few simple tasks on command.\u00a0 In exchange, I’ll feed you and keep you warm, and you’ll have free run of my house.\u00a0 Except for the collar, the simple tasks and the limit of staying on my property, you’ll be free to whatever you like.\u00a0 I may not even make the property restriction.\u00a0 If I travel, I will put you in a nice hotel where other similar folk are staying.\u00a0 Sound like a deal?\u00a0 It’s a dog’s–or any pet’s, really–life.<\/p>\n
Some centuries ago, this phrase–“It’s a dog’s life.”–came into popular use.\u00a0 Back then, our domesticated best friend did not have the most pleasant existence.\u00a0 Most were working animals, used as hunting or farming aids.\u00a0 Very few were treated well, so this phrase and similar ones were used to express an unhappy life.<\/p>\n
This isn’t the case anymore.\u00a0 The phrase is slowly turning to mean a good<\/em> life, and with reason.\u00a0 We pamper our pets.\u00a0 The feline residents of my home don’t even wear a collar, and haven’t for quite some time.\u00a0 They are strictly indoor kitties, and there simply isn’t a need for it.\u00a0 (I might collar my new kitten until her desire to escape the house fades a bit.)\u00a0 Sure, when applied to humans it sounds like slavery, but what if it was adapted a little?<\/p>\n Let’s change the offer I made a bit.\u00a0 No collar, and you have the freedom to come and go as you please.\u00a0 Many dogs have a doggy door, after all, and more than a few can roam outside their yard.\u00a0 You can do whatever you like so long as we occasionally play games and snuggle.\u00a0 You would have to do a few things on demand, but they would all be simple tricks.\u00a0 Some minor feats of dexterity like juggling or something.\u00a0 Nothing serious, nothing naughty, just cute little tricks.\u00a0 It’s not really sounding too bad now, is it?<\/p>\n I wonder how many people would accept an offer like this.\u00a0 It would be slavery–no two ways about it–but it would still be a comfortable existence so long as it stayed within the parameters above.\u00a0 No manual labor, just a few dextrous feats, some games and some snuggling.\u00a0 (Even working animals usually cuddle with their masters at some point.)<\/p>\n So a dog’s life isn’t what it used to be.\u00a0 This is how language evolves, I guess, just like everything else:\u00a0 It adapts to changes in circumstances.\u00a0 I confess, I would be more inclined to be a cat, a more independent pet, but living a pet’s life might be nice to try for awhile.<\/p>\n I don’t see anyone making this offer to me, though.\u00a0 Ah, well, on with human existence.\u00a0 See you tomorrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I have an offer to make for you.\u00a0 You’ll be permitted to go outside occasionally, but (1) you have to ask permission and (b) you have to stay within the perimeter of my property.\u00a0 Occasionally, I will play games or snuggle up with you.\u00a0 I’ll probably force you to wear a collar, and I’ll ask […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.shadowkatmandu.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.shadowkatmandu.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.shadowkatmandu.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.shadowkatmandu.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.shadowkatmandu.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=234"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/blog.shadowkatmandu.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":235,"href":"http:\/\/blog.shadowkatmandu.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234\/revisions\/235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.shadowkatmandu.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.shadowkatmandu.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.shadowkatmandu.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}