On 1/23/2014 Bonnieshores said: Look, yes, some people treat their dogs as humans but I haven't met them. I don't put lipstick on my dog and I don't have theoretical discussions with her, nor require her to keep her elbows off the table. She is free to run and play and be goofy. Her job in this world is to live a life of frivolity as far as I am concerned and she does. However, like most dogs, she has assigned herself the duty of protecting me, not that she actually could as she is too small. But that's what she feels she should do even though I would never expect or want that.
She is not my surrogate child. She is however someone I love beyond words. She does not understand why I might feel the way I do at any given moment but she understands that I do feel and she will snuggle with me if she senses sadness. She will pick up on a light and joyous mood if I'm in one. Her brain does not process the way mine does but it does process and we have developed a relationship that is not mother and daughter but caretaker and her keep. It is close..it is gratifying and it is love. It is human and dog and it goes back thousands of years.
If I prefer her over people, it is sad....you are right. But that is due to my own experiences and if I ever found a human who had one tenth the loyalty, one tenth the altruistic tendencies, one tenth the exuberance on seeing me walk through that door as I do day after day, then perhaps I would feel differently. I do not hate people. I do not hate children. But I find that being with a loving creature who has no hate, who has no agenda, who is more pure of heart than I could ever hope to be is wrong, then so be it. She is a treasure. I would not treat her as a human because she isn't one. I do however treat her as a gift, as a blessing, as an enhancement and ultimate joy in my life because she is all that and she deserves no less.
What I don't understand is why humans must always qualify that our species is more deserving of consideration and good care than animals. There's room for everyone, isn't there?
I understand what you're saying on one level, bonnie, and you sound like a wonderful pet owner.
We should treat all animals with the utmost care and consideration. Absolutely. But for me, humans do take priority. If given the horrible choice of having to save either a human or an animal, I would choose the human.
We are humans living in a society of humans. There is a difference between us and other species. That's just a fact that can't be wished away because we love our pets.
And yes, this discussion has veered away from the question about dogs in hair salon, hasn't it? 
~Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle~ Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland