Oopps...I forgot some people in get upset when people are nice to animals. Must of stuck in your craw, huh?
But, I am nice to animals. I believe in killing humanely. We have dogs and cats and fish and horses, too. I've never eaten any of them. (I'd eat the horses, but the wife would get pretty upset).
OTH, you do have a point. The threads where people wax overly poetic about their pets do offend me a bit.