Opinion: The Dud Pet

Friday, 29 April 2011 | by Pat's Picks

Boston Globe columnist Joan Wickersham addresses a “delicate problem” in today’s paper: the case of the dud pet. In Wickersham’s very funny column, the dud in question is a cat: “The dud pet is the one you just can’t bond with. Your relationship is like a plane that taxis and taxis and never quite lifts off the runway. You try. You feed her and stroke her and talk to her. You do your duty, but you never feel the love.” Wickersham writes that though she knows she’s bound to care for her dud, sometimes, she has fantasies: “Sometimes ladies strolling along the sidewalk stop to talk to her. You can hear them through the open window, telling her how pretty she is and saying that they wish they could take her home. You wish they would.” Click through to read the rest—it’s worth it.