Animal welfare is a matter of perspective

In a recent issue of National Geographic, celebrity dog “whisperer” Cesar Millan disparaged the White House’s treatment of its resident dogs. “When you see the president of the United States coming out of Air Force One, you always see the dog in front. When the president goes inside the White House, you see the dog going in first,” he said, referencing his assertion that, in the wild, leader wolves never let subordinates go before them, and that humans must do the same in order to control domesticated canines.

One wonders what Millan will say if America elects a president who has a history of strapping his Irish setter to a car roof. That certainly sounds like a way to exert authority.