I think you probaby struck a raw nerve with that dog issue in particular. Some people have family and dogs, but other people have no family (or not the one th

I think you probaby struck a raw nerve with that dog issue in particular. Some people have family and dogs, but other people have no family (or not the one they want) and use dogs as surrogates. Pointing out the difference between family and dogs can provoke an intense emotional reaction, not rooted in their feelings towards dogs but rather rooted in the phantom pain they feel where their family should be. So what seems to be an irrational emotional outburst in defense of dogs is in fact their sense of familiar longing or loss. Viewed this way, maybe you can see some common ground. (I'm sure somebody might want to tell me about how they have a family and a dog, and love both. That's great, but I'm quite sure losing a child would be a greater blow to you than losing a dog. The point here is that somebody who already feels pain from missing family might try to ameliorate that pain with dog ownership.)