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Read:

anthropomorphism-and-the-world-of-canine-luxuries

Glossary

• well-heeled  – wealthy
• sophisticate  – a sophisticated (finely experienced and aware) person
• bodega – a bar or wine shop, especially in a Spanish-speaking country; a small store that sells food and other items for the house
• anthropomorphism – the showing or treating of animal as if they are human in appearance, character, or behaviour
• nut – a person who is mentally ill
  
• mischievous – naughty; troublesome
• hyper – hyperactive or unusually energetic
• (to be) on edge – (to be) tense, nervous
  
• to ventriloquize – to voice (the thoughts) of another person
  
• docile – easily taught, managed
  
• thriving – prosperous
• grooming  – the things that you do to keep an animal’s hair or fur clean and neat
• to outstrip  – to be or become greater than something or someone in amount, degree, or success

Discuss

Discuss in pairs, small groups, or with your teacher:

• Why do people keep pets?
• What animal do you think makes the best pet?
• Is it wrong to spend money on pets and pet food when so many people are starving?
• Do you think some people prefer pets to children? Why?
• What do you think of people who dispose of their pets because they are too much trouble?
• Do you think pet owners are sometimes similar to their pets?
• What do you think of the idea of virtual pets, like Tamagotchi?

Practice Makes Perfect

Fill in the gaps in the text below with the words in bold. Go to: anthropomorphism-and-the-world-of-canine-luxuries to check your answers.

mischievous               docile             bodega                       nut

ventriloquize             anthropomorphism              on edge

A couple of years ago, I put on my shoes, grabbed my purse, and asked my dog, Luna, if she needed anything from the (1) …….. . It was then that I realized just how deep into the madness of pet (2)  ………. I had sunk. My excuse, of course, is the same as every other  (3) …… job’s. I swear that Luna, a fluffy, (4) …………, ninety-pound Border collie–Great Pyrenees mix, is basically a human. She’s as big as one, anyway, and as expressive. Friends come over for parties, gaze into her skeptical hazel eyes, and inform me that Luna resembles a person wearing a dog suit. Because I work from home, I’ve spent much more time with her than I have with my actual human partner, and every day I observe her mood shifting like the light in our apartment: she’s sleepy; she’s hyper; she’s (5) ………. ; she’s happy; she wants to be left alone. Like most dog-owners, I have developed an embarrassing voice that I use to (6) ………… her thoughts and feelings (as I imagine them, anyway), and, if Luna were (7) ……..  enough to dress up in anything more complicated than a bandanna, I would probably style a full outfit for her every day.

ANSWERS: 1. bodega 2. anthropomorphism 3. nut 4. mischievous 5. on edge 6. ventriloquize 7. docile

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Explore it more to create your own teaching-learning experience!

It is an endearing kind of insanity to want to own a hulking canine in a place like New York City.

Read to learn:

what-life-in-new-york-city-looks-like-with-a-great-dane

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