Man Is Dog's Best Friend

He is one of the 35 million Italians who own a pet. But perhaps "owning" is not the right term. "It's better to say that they share our lives," says Guido Guerzoni with a smile. A Bocconi graduate in Business Administration (he defended his thesis in 1992), he is currently lecturer in Museum Management at the University, and author of Pets: Come gli animali domestici hanno invaso le nostre vite e i nostri cuori [Pets. How domestic animals have conquered our lives and hearts], recently published by Feltrinelli.

"Pioppo (Italian for poplar), the roano-brown pointer that has been my non-human son since 2011, fills the void left by my two other children who, as they grow up, are leaving their family home behind. He's also source of inexhaustible affection." This is a consideration that anyone who owns a dog or another pet can relate to, but Guido Guerzoni made it his starting point to investigate the relationship between man and dog, also looking at the story of his personal relationship with animals, which has been strong since he was a child: "The book is an attempt to understand and explain, without ceding to easy moralism, an increasingly apparent social phenomenon, i.e. the humanization of domestic animals and their becoming additional family members. It is thus aimed at a vast readership; all those who have a pet or might get one."

This has been an absolutely positive social development, according to Guerzoni: "Naturally, I look skeptically at some exaggerations like putting enamel on your dog's nails or a jeweled collar on his neck, but there is no doubt that having a pet concerns the sphere of affections and also individual rights, something that would have been unthinkable even a few years ago. It's about urban animals that have a symbiotic relationship with humans and, indeed, for many people, especially singles and the elderly, pets are the only true companionship they have." In England, 40% of senior citizens say that pets are their only form of stable company. As the author points out: "It is non-sense to say that feeling for animals translates into less affection for other human beings. Indeed, the converse is true, in the sense that people that love animals tend to be more generous and altruistic toward fellow humans."

Being an economist, Guerzoni could not overlook the economic aspect of our sentimental attachment to pets. "The pet care industry is one of the fastest expanding sectors. Thanks to research and continuous improvements in food and care, pets will share an ever-increasing part of our lives." Loving your pet is therefore a feeling that nobody should be ashamed to manifest: "Normally, one writes an essay to espouse one idea over another. As far as I'm concerned, despite my efforts at neutrality, I let the reader get a sense of where I stand," Guido Guerzoni concludes.