At our pets' beck and call

Let's face it: somewhere along the way, pets stopped being just animals and became full-fledged members of the family.

- SONJA BROWN

They've gone from sleeping in the backyard to sleeping in the bed, from eating scraps to gourmet meals, and from wagging their tails to wearing sweaters.

In fact, pets are now treated so much like children that you half expect them to enrol in preschool.

But how did we get here? Is it utter madness? Gone are the days of dogs named Spot and cats named Whiskers.

Now, we've got pets named after historical figures, celebrities, or trendy baby names.

It's like we're prepping them for a future where pets have last names, identity numbers and their own seats at a family dinner.

At some point, someone decided it wasn't enough for pets to simply have fur. Oh no.