NewsflareAlthough there are many obvious upsides to owning a pet, they come with a sizeable chunk of downsides too.
Feeding them, cleaning up after them, taking them to the vets and the crippling anxiety you’ll die surrounded by nothing but your pets who may or may not eat your face off once you do, are just a few which spring to mind.
Also, pets can be needy. Evens cats, who can be so aloof you wonder whether they even notice when you leave, will eventually come to you for food, water and attention.
Dogs though, they can take neediness to a whole new level.
Like this guy:
Persistent itches are the worst, and when you’ve got tiny little arms and your itch is somewhere your paws can’t reach, there’s no other option than to get your human to do it for you.
Although some dogs evidently do have some boundary issues when it comes to their human parents, they apparently also come in very handy when it comes to falling in love in the first place.
Chief adviser at match.com, Dr. Helen Fisher, advised The New York Times how having a dog can indicate a man is nurturing and caring, giving out a ‘powerful mating signal’.
According to Dr. Fisher:
Having a dog really says something about you.
It says you can care for a creature, that you can follow a schedule and get home to feed it, that you can walk it and love it and spend time with it.
Dr. Fisher added:
That’s the bottom line message that women get when they see a man with a dog: He’s capable of nurturing, of giving without receiving a lot, of caring for another. He’s made a commitment to this animal.
And one thing women have needed for years and years is a partner who could share the load, be responsible, care for them if they’re sick and show up on time.
Another dog who clearly has boundary issues is Lucy the golden retriever, who insists on sitting in the front seat of the car so she can hold hands with her owner while he drives.
She also finds the time to give the back seat passenger a cheeky side-eye glance, knowing full-well what she’s up to.
The cheek of it:
Filmed by Carissa Germany, Lucy beams from ear to ear as she holds Carissa’s husband’s hand with one paw, smirking all the while.
Sharing the bizarre footage on Facebook, Carissa chuckled:
Something you might not know about Lucy…. she has to be holding your hand in the car…. finally got it on video.
The footage quickly went viral, with the original uploaded video having now been viewed nearly one hundred thousand times at the tine of writing. And people have fallen snout over tail for Lucy and her ‘smug face’.
One person guffawed:
The way that dog looked into the back with THAT grin… says everything!! [sic]
Another hooted:
Omg! Dying laughing! But mostly because you sit in the back because the dog wants you to – You are well trained. [sic]
There are worse things than being over-affectionate, I suppose.
If you have a story you want to tell send it to UNILAD via [email protected]
Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.