I’ve decided to continue to discuss some key political issues with you. I think it’s time to remind you that we still haven’t got the minimum wage in place for working dogs. I was a bit premature discussing pensions with you as first of all you need a salary. Having a discussion on whether a pension should be based on final salary or defined contributions is all rather irrelevant if you don’t have any income to base either of them on in the first place. It is shocking that dogs are exploited in this way. Fine, so most owners do buy us the things we need and do look after us into our old age. However, we are intelligent creatures and should be trusted to make decisions on our own expenditure. Then of course there are the real quality of life issues. How many owners get to a point where the cost of treating us becomes too high? If we were able to save for our old age and ill health, then in the absence of a free national dog health service we could fund our own treatment and make our own decisions on whether we wanted to stay with mainstream treatment or try complimentary therapies. It is unfair that simply because income is withheld from us, these are decisions we are in no position to make. I’m not saying it should be set very high. We’d settle for a starting point of £5 an hour, but the most important thing is that it is paid direct to us and not to our owners who could siphon it off for other purposes. Now should be the age of equality for dogs.
I wonder if I write to my MP whether she would take me seriously. I wonder if she even has a dog of her own or whether she is deprived of the benefits that sharing her life with a dog can bring. At this point I find that I am starting to feel sorry for my MP and may be at risk of losing the argument before I’ve even started.