I should add that my dog is really very well-behaved so getting up on the couch was pretty much the only rule she broke. It’s not like I was letting her chew through the drywall.

I agree-that’s why I put it in quotes. It was the best word I could think of for that feeling that sets these kinds of assholes off, which of course seems insane to any reasonable person. And of course, it never seems to happen with respect to something that can hit back. I have visited my parents once at their home…

My father was violent to our pets and it was always over some perceived ‘disrespect.’ When I was about 5 I slapped him on the back after he kicked my cat and then he came after me. I bet the flamingo pecked him or ignored him or did something he (ridiculously) took personally. I would be stunned if those kids weren’t…

I just wanted to chime in and say that much like female genital mutilation, this is very much cultural and not dependent on religion. They just happen to overlap in many places. There is an excellent documentary on Netflix called Honor. It is about honor killings and mostly focuses on India and most cases discussed…