What the author doesn’t seem to get is the difference between childless and child free.
And there is a difference.
And as long as the pets are loved and well cared for, far better the child free have pets instead of kids.
And for folks fortunate to have both furry and human family who are well-loved, I’d say that’s pretty close to Heaven.
The author is a male, who is probably not even married. You can not expect him to get it. If the author were a woman, that would be a different story.