Canines are one of the most beloved animal companions ever welcomed in the human home. They gaze at you with those innocent doggy orbs, sleep at your hearth, greet you when you arrive from work, wriggling madly as if you were a lord, and humbly eat whatever wholesale dog food you decide to provide them, all the while fiercely protecting your home with loud barking and super vigilance. We seem to have deciphered how to make our BFF’s content and under our control. Compare them to cats. As majestic as the kitty may be, it is always, one hundred percent of the time, thinking up plans to {escape! Rarely does the dog.

Indeed, that is the narrative we tell for ourselves. But seriously, don’t you think dogs have learned all of the fine points of the game and easily manipulate the humans that they possess?

Pups have convinced us to take them in and conquer their wolfish wilderness ways. We provide them with meat, warmth, companionship, gratifying occupations, doggy dress when necessary, and fascinating wholesale dog toys. They have even persuaded us to put out absurd amounts of our cash on bathing, grooming, and walking them around a show ring just so we are able to collect a first place ribbon and they can collect adulation and more kibble.

Maybe, you say, working animals don’t have it quite so easy. But think about it. A purposeful task is one of the most enjoyable experiences in the world for person or pet, at least as long as we are all treated kindly. Canines get to frolic around herding sheep; run over the frozen tundra in a bounding burst of excitement; carefully steer a visually impaired companion through a wholesale dog store (where Spot gets to chose his own treats). They get to sit tall on fire engines; work with peace officers; serve in the armed services; and save us from crime by detecting contraband and guns, all the while receiving worshipful glances from their grateful audiences. In other words, they hold some of the most august positions anywhere. This is not labor; this is a fame! Isn’t Snoopy better known than you are?!

For sure, in return, our furry friends supply us constant loyalty and make us want to live up to the gods they think we are and who deserve such greetings at the end of the day. They cock their heads and grin; they fetch, they let you lead them on walks (or, more accurately, they take you) and they entertain the youngsters. And the feel of that fuzzy head as we murmur good night with a pat really cannot be replaced. If all they want in return is a few goodies or a nice soft bed from a wholesale dog store – and that they get to think they are the alpha dog - surely we can happily oblige