Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. A note on language ix
4. Thinking about spot
5. 1. awash with pets 3
6. 2. neighborhood menagerie 6
7. 3. who are pets? 10
8. 4. why pets? 13
9. 5. tainted love 18
10. Living with spot
11. 6. family constellations 23
12. 7. why not 29
13. 8. sleeping together 32
14. 9. stroke me 35
15. 10. talk talk 39
16. 11. animal bling 48
17. 12. butt of the joke 51
18. 13. planting seeds of empathy 53
19. 14. pets and our health 61
20. 15. cat scratch fever 65
21. 16. pets and their health 68
22. 17. feeding frenzy 71
23. 18. who should we feed to our pets? 79
24. 19. your dog is fat! 81
25. 20. poop 85
26. 21. animals bite back 88
27. 22. pet and planet 92
28. Worrying about spot
29. 23. turn me loose 101
30. 24. a boredom epidemic 111
31. 25. don’t you want me? 113
32. 26. cruelty, abuse, neglect 115
33. 27. a hidden world of hurt 120
34. 28. quiz: cruel practices 122
35. 29. the strange world of animal hoarding 123
36. 30. the links 125
37. 31. heavy petting 128
38. 32. licensed to kill 136
39. 33. rage against the dying 143
40. 34. fatal plus 149
41. 35. eunuchs and virgins 152
42. 36. breeding bad 160
43. 37. the shelter industry 166
44. 38. cradle to grave 176
45. 39. a living industry 179
46. 40. protect the harvest 184
47. 41. rent-a- pet 187
48. 42. the biggest loser: exotic pets 192
49. Caring for spot
50. 43. what do pets need? 199
51. 44. enriching animals’ lives 202
52. 45. which animals should be pets? 206
53. 46. offering better protection 210
54. 47. speaking for spot 213
55. 48. so, is pet keeping ethical? 217
56. Notes 221
57. Bibliography 235
58. Index 255