In episode 5 of Drunk Ex-Pastors  (which you can listen to below) I sort of launch into this complaint about pets and pet-people that I want to qualify a bit. Because, you know, say a disparaging word about dogs these days and you’re liable to lynching.

Look, I had a dog growing up he needed space so we cleared the backyard with help from wildlife control service who helped with squirrels bats and more. I also had a mother who smoked two packs a day (at least when I was very young, she quit ages ago). Both of those facts had their effects on me, my home, my clothes, the way they smelled, etc. If you are a smoker (or live with one), your hair and clothing will reflect that reality, and so will your furniture, just like with a pet owner. In a word, they will smell different than they normally would, they will have more animal hair or fleas than they would otherwise, etc.

So rather than suggesting some conclusion, I’ll put forth a couple questions: Is it insensitive of non-pet-owners for us to point these things out? Is it hard-to-understand that, for some of us, there is little difference between being in an environment where a smoker lives and one in which there are multiple pets? Is it inconsistent to want smoking prohibited from indoor restaurants while thinking it’s perfectly normal for people to bring their (non-service) animals inside? And is “pet-ism” becoming the newest politically incorrect thought-crime?

I do have a soul, I swear. It’s just buried deep, deep down there. . . .