I very clearly remember the first day I saw Misti, the wonder dog. She was a present from Mrs M's family for Mrs M's 30th birthday. We trekked out to the kennel and saw assorted Cocker Spaniel puppies. We had even settled on one before we came across the enclosure with Misti and her brother and sister. The brother and sister were already destined for other places but Misti was potentially available. One look and we knew she was the one. The absolutely cutest little ball of fluff and personality you can imagine. She's been a great dog and a member of the family for more than 4 years now.

However I've a question. Why do pets not come with warning labels? In this modern era of litigation everything has a warning label on it. Careful, the coffee's hot. Careful, these knives can cut. Careful, this chainsaw can cut things in half. But you don't get anything on pets. You get no warning that they can do their business inside, they can get sick, they have moods, they can always find a way to be underfoot, they snore. Don't tell me it's obvious. All warnings are obvious. There's such a huge potential legal minefield here it boggles the mind.

"Your honour, all I saw when I purchase the said pet was a cute ball of fluff."
"What?! No warning signs? No disclaimer? No 3-part video?"
"No your honour. Nothing. Just two cute puppies eyes staring longingly."
"Why that almost amounts to entrapment to boot."
"I know your honour. It's a good job we have courts to protect us from this kind of thing."
"You mean thinking for yourself and taking responsibility for your own actions."
"Ummm, yes."
"I agree. I find the defendant guilty of massive fraud. I find the plaintiff a fine, upstanding fellow and fully worthy of the protection of this court from himself."

This all came to me last night as I cleaned yet another Misti pish off our floor. Her new medicine is having unpleasant side effects. As I mumbled to myself wondering if the warranty was still good on our dog I realised we'd been duped. No warning. No labels. Nothing. Outrage, I know.

Pets. Taking advantage of humans since domestication.