Dave wrote:

<snip>
> Pet ownership may be analogous to slavery in terms of legal status
> but it is not analaogus in a practical sense.

It is, very much so. If you are familiar with animal care and
control organizations or SPCAs working on cruelty cases, the
perpetrator often can't be charged unless it is proved that
he had legal authority over the animal. Legal status varies,
but is always weighted in favor of the "owner". Last night there
was an episode on "Animal Cops Phoenix" where the humane team could
not remove sick animals from a hoarder because the hoarder would
not allow them to enter the house. The individual "owner" may
love the animal and provide excellent care -- as did some slave
owners for their human chattels. Or the "owner" may provide a bare
minimum of care -- a doghouse in the backyard and a chain. As
long as unnecessary cruelty is not proved, the animal cannot be
removed, even if most of his needs are not met. He can even be
mutilated by cosmetic surgery, as in ear cropping and tail docking,
or killed by the owner (if a cooperative vet can be found, or if
the owner does it himself). It IS legal in most places for an
owner to euthanize his own animal -- it is his property -- as long
as he does it "humanely".

There are a number of books on dog legal status, including _Dog Law_
on the practical facts, and, of course, Francione's _Animals,
Property, and the Law_ on the more abstract level.

> Wesley's dog
> has, we assume, a large degree of freedom and is no worse off than he
> would be in the wild.

He has the freedom Wesley *allows* him. That's the point. He
has no real freedom or rights of his own, and he does not own
himself.

As for being in the wild -- many dog breeds have been so mutilated
by humans for vanity or other human purposes -- like the chihuahua --
that they cannot even survive in the wild. Owners congratulate
themselves on this, but it is little different from chopping off
a person's legs and then congratulating oneself because one provides
a wheelchair.

> The relationship between Wesley and his dog
> is almost certainly close to the relationship between parent and child
> than master and slave.

It may feel that way to those involved, but it does not alter the
legal and ethical status of animals.

Working in a humane organization or shelter is a very difficult
and stressful situation, rather like being the doctor in a
concentration camp. It frequently leads to strange psychological
reactions, as it evidently did in the PETA case, and people either
"shut down" emotionally or snap and go off the deep end. I have
worked as an ACO, and I've seen the dead pile in the back of an
inner-city shelter. It's a terrible situation, and I tend to cut
the people involved some slack.