I should warn you that I shall be telling a few pet stories in what follows, and even providing some pet photographs. This is not as wicked a thing to do, of course, as forcing others to gush over pictures of one’s children, or so cruel as subjecting others to photographs of one’s recent vacation in Aruba or Tierra del Fuego or gorgeous Pittsburgh; still, as a rule, the things we find adorable about our own lives are not nearly as fascinating to others as they are to us. So common decency obliges me to announce my intentions. Then again, the particular pet in question has a long history with a great many of you—at least, in his literary emanations—and so I feel I can presume your indulgence. I have a point or two to make.
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