Arguing with the bitch who ignores the runt.

I've been very busy lately. The bitch down the street had puppies and the father was no where to be found, so I've been helping out. She and I had a major disagreement about her ignoring the runt, and now, thanks to me, he's not sucking hind tit anymore.

I don't understand this micro application of Darwinian theory, carried out with all the righteousness of the perfectly healthy against those most incapable of defending themselves. "It strengthens the breed," she told me the first time she pushed the runt away.

"Perhaps," I said, "if you measure strength in terms of muscle, but we don't know what his brain is like, do we? He could be the dog who provides emotional support for a needy human with arthritis. He could be the dog who wakes up his caretakers when their house is on fire. He could be anything, except the dog who wins at Westminster or chases sheep in the north of the UK.

She finally agreed and now the runt is growing, but I still worry about him. I'm working on his vocabulary now so that he has an intellectual head start.

It's a good thing to help someone you know needs it. It makes my pain go away.