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No description of "The American Pet" seems adequate without reference to the root of the matter. We are ourselves animals who share the same origins with the rest of animal kind. We have been intimately engaged with other animals for millions of years. We have been eaten by them and we have eaten them. We have feared them and loved them.
In seeking out these fellow creatures we acknowledge our continued dependence upon other species.
Carol Weston Galloway
Cambridge, Mass.
You mention how few dogs there are in China and in Chinese-quarter streets. While visiting Russia, I made the same observation to my Intourist guide. She replied that 1) Russians love animals as much as Americans do, and do own pets; 2) she has a poodle; 3) in Soviet cities dogs are allowed only in certain side streets; 4) the owners have to pick up the souvenirs left by their pets, or else. That would be a sure cure for the problem in the U.S.
Claude Caron
St. Thomas, V.I.