My Shoulders Hurt and Equal Rights for Dogs

Yesterday was my big yearly outing to get a check-up and a big needle poked in between my shoulders. For some reason, when I got in the car with my human sister, she thought it was pretty funny that I was riding in the car with her. I don't know why that is so funny. I've been going for car rides since long before she was born. In fact, I used to get to sit up front, now I have to sit in the back so I can help amuse my human sister. It's really not that bad because I can usually find some pretzels or raisins to snack on during the ride.

Speaking of car rides, Alpha Female only has 14 more days of driving to school and back for class. It doesn't seem like it was all that long ago that she was driving back from her first day of orientation and wondering if maybe she had made a horrible mistake by quitting her job and going back to school. Now, three and a half years later, she has learned so much (most of which she shares with me) and is really looking forward to being a lawyer.

One of the things that I've learned is that the law doesn't place nearly enough value on the non-human members of a family. Let's say my market value is $500, that is, you could go to a pet store or breeder and buy an incredibly intelligent and handsome 8 year old miniature schnauzer like myself for $500. Now, if somebody takes $500 from Alpha Female and takes me from Alpha Male, the law views these as equivalent wrongs, because I am just considered chattel even though I am clearly worth more than my market value to my human family. To me, and to dogs (and maybe other animals) around the country, this just seems wrong. I am more than mere property. If I ever decide to run for public office, I think I'll make changing this valuation a top priority.

Oh my goodness! Something stinks in here. My human sister just walked by, it must be her that smells so bad. I had better go alert Alpha Female to the situation.