You don't suppose we are projecting onto the puppy.Johnny might take home, do you?

Dogs are NOT children. They ARE people, but ...dogs have been bred to work with us. Work for us. Like horses. We bred them to suit our purposes. They bred us in subtler ways. We evolved beside them.
While its very wrong to have a human child to meet our needs, its what dogs were bred for, and aobit is their nature, and their desire. I'm sure treating a working or hunting dog like a child would send him into neurotic fits of inferiority feelings.

I know that in the worst part of my illness I feared that my depression would contaminate or harm a puppy. I yearned for something to love and care for. But I really believed I exuded such pain that I would hurt a tender animal. It is the saddest thing I've ever known. Ptsd cuts us off from humanity. I felt cut from all mammalian life.

I came to care for some pumpkins. Then a green garter snake about whom I was quit ambivilent. Then an extension cord orange colored garter snake. Then a human male who has healed me of a lot. I'll know I'm firmly entrenched in the will to live when I can commit to a puppy.

I met a service dog today, trained to recognise seizures. Beautiful intelligent animal. Id love to learn to train them.

I vote yes to dogs.