Pets will never replace babies even though they're easier option for millennials… or this country will go to the dogs

The Sun

24-05-2025

WE all know someone who is a 'pet parent', don't we.
Those who cherish and adore their dog 'fur babies', who puts their needs before their own and constantly spoils them.
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It's a bond that should be cherished. After all they are man — and woman's — best friends. But our obsession for dogs is, incredibly, threatening the future of our country.
A new academic report has shown that many people are actually avoiding having babies because they see dogs as 'their children' instead.
Which is absolutely barking.
This report, published in the journal European Psychologist, helps explain why our birth rate is declining.
It says pets are fulfilling 'a nurturing drive similar to parenting, but with fewer demands than raising biological offspring'.
Pet parents are even choosing dogs with 'infant-like features' such as large eyes, small noses and rounder faces.
In other words, they look like babies.
It's our millennials — those aged 29 to 36, who are in their peak baby-making years — who think a dog's life is the perfect, and only, way for them.
How sad that they have already ditched any plans for real-life babies while their biological clocks are still firmly ticking.
But I get it. I was very nearly one of them.
Heartwarming moment pet owner cries with joy as he reunites with lost dog at burned LA home after thinking he was dead
There were points, when me and the Geordie struggled to become human parents, that I truly thought our Boxer dog Layla was actually enough for me.
We chose our wedding venue so she could be there, Layla has her own Instagram account and she often eats better food than we do.
I have spent more than a year's salary just keeping her alive with operations on her legs and eye, scans for her kidney disease, hideously expensive medication for her allergies and when she had cancer last year we even paid for her to have chemotherapy.
I couldn't love her any more than I do. But I will always be grateful that we became human parents too.
Because I now know with complete certainty that being a mum to a dog just can't be compared.
Different love, different interactions, different aspirations, different everything. It is on a different plane.
I feel lucky that I have them both.
Not everyone can have a child. And some never want one. There's no reason they should.
But if you were contemplating parenthood it can these days seem like being one to a pet is the easier option.
Less complicated
While kids are stuffed into expensive nurseries, dogs are allowed to trot into the office and never leave your side.
You see dogs in prams, in baby carriers. They are allowed in B&Q, Waterstones and John Lewis. We barely have to leave them at home.
In Italy this week they ruled that large dogs can even sit next to their pet parents on planes.
They are cheaper, easier, less complicated.
But if the number of fur babies increases we must make sure that they, just like our kids, have boundaries. Because not everybody loves dogs — some are scared, others are allergic to them.
I've seen an owner let their dog sprawl in the aisle of a train as passengers were forced to step over him, another who let their pooch stand on a table in a pub.
If I allowed my six-year-old to do that there would — rightly — be outrage.
I hope that those who are thinking of making one their entire family — instead of part of it — don't regret that decision in the long run.
And I hope that as they raise them they try to realise that regardless of their love for their fur baby, it can never truly replace a human.
Because if they do not, this country really will go to the dogs.
Let 'em Loose again
AS the chaos surrounding daytime TV emerged this week, I decided – for the purpose of research – to watch some recent episodes of Loose Women.
It was the first time I'd seen it in about two decades, not because I am averse to daytime TV, but because when it is on I am usually at work.
I discovered not a lot has changed – the same format, the same arrival into the studio as though they're bursting on to Stars In Their Eyes and outfits that make them look like fruit Skittles.
But the major difference is that they are no longer 'loose women'.
The show now appears scripted, staged and stale – full of woke opinions with a dose of fake shrieking. Which is a shame.
Sadly, it is no surprise bosses want to cut down the episodes. But what they should have done is revamped it before shoving a gaping hole in the lives of all those who see it as part of their essential daily routine.
Or, you know, actually allowed the presenters to do their jobs properly to pull in viewers and be what they're supposed to be – loose women.
Every litter helps
THE idea of Tesco setting up a wedding list sounds like a sensible one – after all, 'every little helps' doesn't it?
So many couples live together be-fore they tie the knot, so they usually have their fill of tea towels and mugs before the big day arrives.
But there's just something unromantic about a wedding gift package that includes bin bags, antibacterial hand wash and loo rolls, isn't there?
And imagine only being able to remember what great aunt Margaret bought you as a gift because you're sitting on the loo.
Ben serves beefcake – your turn next, Jamie
BEN SHEPHARD is the latest middle-aged man to prove that they're not over the hill at 50.
He looks amazing.
Fans loved him stripping off for Men's Health.
Ben is the newest star to hit the milestone and pack in the protein and the intense gym routines to transform their bodies and get a rippling six- pack.
He follows in the shirt-stripping antics of 50-year-olds David Beckham, Jamie Lomas and Idris Elba. Now you've got to wonder who's next.
Jamie Oliver hits that milestone on Tuesday. And if anybody was going to do it, you'd imagine it would be The Naked Chef.
No pressure, Jamie.
Becks rift is so sad
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THE fallout between Brooklyn Beckham and his parents is sad.
Not because they are in the spotlight or because they are rich and famous, but because any family fallout is unpleasant.
And now this rift appears to have rippled up to Brooklyn's grandparents, because last Sunday he failed to wish his grandad Tony Adams, Victoria's father, a happy birthday.
Which is so sad considering they were once so close. It's not because Brooklyn has lost the ability to use social media.
The week before, he posted to mark the anniversary of the death of his wife Nicola's grandmother saying how he misses her 'every day'.
It may be wise for Brooklyn to remember how heartbroken he is about her when thinking of his own family.
As the saying goes, you should never go to sleep on an argument. Because none of us ever know what the future holds.
A real shock
MOLLY-MAE HAGUE might be a reality star, but she appears to have actually lost her grip on reality.
After a flight from Dubai and a seven- hour hair appointment, she got leg pain and thought she had a blood clot, so went to A&E.
It was 'packed', a 'sad environment' with such a long queue she headed home.
She was forced to return, still in pain the next day.
And she came back to Planet Earth.