Dogs are a construct of men. Men ( and perhaps a few women )

bred dogs based on appearance ( personal taste and fashion ) and for

functional purposed to be used for: protection / companionship / vanity /

arrogance / sport ( fighting / hunting / racing and as currency to buy

and trade goods. Dogs are the result of human imagination, as limited as

it is one good thing has come out of breeding dogs - dogs love us.

Dogs ( and perhaps their feline companions ) share an unconditional love

for human beings that no robotic or virtual substitute can replicate - ask

any dog lover if they would trade the most sophisticated toy dog that

money could buy for their little four legged Frisky ( even after their dog

has chewed a hole in their new sofa or urinated on the oriental rug

minutes before dinner guests were expected ) most dog owners would

say almost in unison "No Way"!.

Yet technology enthusiasts, well intentioned scientists and toy

manufacturers continue the race to replicate human companionship don't

they know that a "Tin Man" and a "Tin Dog" to echo the "Tin Man":

Just to register emotion, jealousy, devotion
And really feel the part
I could stay young and chipper
And I'd lock it with a zipper
If I only had a heart

convinced?

Okay If you woke up and your dog turned in R2D2 would you be

pleasantly surprised or angry ( after you got over your shock?).

You come home from work - your dog greets you.

You're stuck on the first page of the novel you have been trying to write

for years - your cat jumps up on the desk, you stop fretting

over "blank page syndrome" and pet her until you regain your focus.

Americans spent over 53 billion dollars last year on their pets - some

body out there thinks animals are here to stay - so why is technology

racing to robotics and virtual our relationships? The answer could lie

simply in the quest for happiness and because cats and dogs provide so

much happiness and joy to humans, people want the joy to continue -

without the maintenance, sorrow ( when their pet dies ) and the expense

of up keep love costs money time and energy - I love you babe is not

free or without consequence - anyone who has lived knows that:).

There is hope for our pets, no need to sound the alarm - yet. Although I

have limited this conversation - pets, to mean cats and dogs, birds and

fish fall into the category ( No leave fish and birds out of it they should

be free to fly and swim big. It does not matter how charming /

fascinating nor sophisticated - synthetic is fake no living cat or dog can be

replaced with something that requires batteries - ask your friend the tin

man and not cat or dog can be replaced with a robot who is

programmed to think like a pet - ask the Lion - who only needed to

be reminded of his intelligence when he too realized that he indeed had

a ( functioning ) brain that just needed to be put to good use:).

Almost daily a new app, scientific discovery or tech device becomes

available for consumers to buy and replace living friendships, it is a new

year how about taking a look at our four legged friends another way

would they be able to give you 100 percent unconditional love if you

were synthetic Intelligent devices help to make our world easier to

navigate but they will never replace the beauty, intuition, intelligence

and compassion of my cats and dogs or the ones who wait in the shelter

with the hope of finding someone loving - just like you:).

"Dallos" a robot dog from Anime Vice - could you imagine coming home to this every night?

Don't let an app match you with a dog or cat go to the shelter in person meet "old school!"

MIT - love ya but really don't want dogs and cats to be replaced by replicants:) nor Gremlins:)

Imagine if Rosie went haywire - on your dog getting your pets accustomed to real pet sitters is a headache imagine if the maid were a robot?

Sony's entertainment division is awesome, can we keep kids and the young at heart learning from and interacting with real animals we still share the world - with them:).

Okay Robot B9 could be used to find a missing dog but what if he did not like your dog? Or was under the influence of person who preferred cats?:)

"i'm sorry Dave"......At the rate we are going man could very well wind up living in outer space, what if HAL felt threatened by your new puppy or kitty ( you know what happened to the crew).

R2-D2 and C3P0 were best friends the last thing they want is to meet your cat or dog: Two's company three is a crowd" - I'm sure they have this text programmed into their memory banks:)

It's a good thing "Mother" ( the real ships captain ) liked cats - the Aliens certainly didn't:)

IT'S THE WEEKEND, DOG! 2015