We love our pets. If you doubt that statement,

just take a few minutes and go to the

PDT website at www.portsmouth-dailytimes.

com. Click on the Cutest Pet Contest

logo to view all of the entries submitted so far.

You’ll find little dogs with big dog

names, big dogs with little dog names, kitties

and dogs dressed up for the holidays,

or to ward off the winter chill. You’ll see

dogs and cats together, a dog kissing a dolphin

and a dove in a glass.

They’re talented, too. Entered so far are

kissing Boston Terriers and dancing

Pomeranians. They’re comedians. They

make us laugh. Funny like a clown. We

call them our babies. She’s the “Queen of

the Home,” he’s the “Ruler of the Roost.”

There’s a 23-pound cat described as “big

boned.”

“My best friend,” “my little buddy;”

“such a doll,” are how we think of our animal

companions.

I’m not sure what this says about us as a

society, but people who love their pets

can’t be all bad. We rescue them from the

cold, adopt them when they’re abandoned

and take them in when our dying neighbor

can’t care for his dog any more but wants

to make sure it goes to a good home.

We find a lot of comfort in man’s best

friend, or bird. They never let us down.

They’re like our children, but less naughty.

They don’t talk back, at least in a way that

hurts our feelings. We don’t know what we

would do without them. And you never

know … if you fall in a well, they just

might run back and bring help.

JOHN CLARK may be reached at (740) 353-

3101, ext. 211, or jclark@heartlandpublications.com.