The Pet Proxy

Our brains are naturally wired to raise kids and you can see evidence of this by how well many pets have it.

People wait longer to have kids, if they have them at all, and in the meantime they often get pets.   These pets are treated well -- absurdly well, in fact.   Sweaters, birthday celebrations and an overabundance of photos.....nothing is off limits.   These pets turn into full-on proxies for the children the people really want.

The pets offer an attachment without any long term commitment.   It would be like a kid you could return to the store if they pee on the rug too much.  The funniest thing is how serious people with pets want to take the task.   They'll seek out the burden and stress about the commitment involved.  They feel that it's like raising a kid, because they want it to feel that way.

I know all this because I once used the 'Pet Proxy'.  

Now I'm like the kid on the two wheel bike looking back on those still riding tricycles.   The bicycle looks scary and unbalanced, when you are used to three wheels.  The supremacy of two wheels over three becomes clear as soon as you make the switch.