Eh.
I don’t love my hammer.
I don’t want to exaggerate the importance of animals, and I don’t even think they have souls, but I also don’t want to underplay their importance or significance either. They are more than just tools. They do have feelings and they can offer companionship, which mere possessions cannot.
It doesn’t mean the world to my hammer to curl up on my bed when I’m sick. My hammer don’t give a shit. My cats do, and my dog too. They give me attention when I’m not feeling well. Whenever the chemo gets rough especially.
My wife doesn’t like the animals in our bed, but it’s OK when I’m sick. I’m not looking to a hammer for that.
Idk why everyone hates hammers around here?
Dogs are property, regardless of how fondly you do or don't feel towards the animal. You own it, period. Tools are property. Your dog might be a good tool or a poor tool, that's on you. Yours happens to be a tool to cure loneliness.
Now, I love and would defend my living property more vigorously than my similarly priced nonliving property, but none of this make my dogs family.
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