““I recently asked a veterinarian friend how he thought about our relationship to companion animals. “They are slaves—chattel slaves,” he said breezily. I was astonished and irked by the nonchalance of his proclamation. But as I thought about it afterward, the reason his statement bothered me so much was that he had touched a nerve—had captured something I find uncomfortable about our relationship to pets. They are here to serve us.””
