The relationship between humans and pets has always intrigued me. In ancient times the cat hunted all animals, especially rats, the eternal plague of barns. The dog was the guard of the clan or served as a finger lick at the banquets of the rich.
From service providers they became “cute” beings, as the typical names Tareco, Bobi, Piruças, Farrusco, Bolinhas prove… The migration of populations towards urban centers led them to confine themselves in apartments, emptying their natural purposes.
In an overcrowded world where people are suspicious of the next, they took on the role previously reserved for humans, becoming full members of the family. They got names from people, it became common to call themselves Gaspar, Óscar, Madalena … Cats don’t bother, they take over the house and live attacking hanging threads or invisible enemies. The dogs manage to make the owners go out on the street in the dawn of a cold winter to urinate on the wheels of the cars, to discover something putrefying, to bark to a movement in the distance, to force homo sapiens to crouch and to catch the excrement of the walk. Wow, what an admirable power!
