[screye]

Don't know why you're downvoted. Most Americans seems to put in more effort into their dogs, than people used to with their children 100 years ago.

Take care of your kid like you'd a long-lived dog, and that's enough attention for long enough. By the end of it, the kid has grown into an adult.

The problem is that parents are expected to parent too much. American car centric infrastructure affects this a lot. But, latch key kids turned out just fine, and there is nothing wrong with that model.

Pets may not be actively pursuing a parasitic relationship with humans, but it does appear to be manifesting in that form for certain lonely people.

[XCSme]

Haven't pets, especially dogs, been treated as part of the family for a really long time (thousands of years)?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_depictions_of_dogs

[r2_pilot]

I can't remember where I read this now, but I seem to recall that dogs were primarily outside companions until recently; the invention of flea/tick controls helped ease their transition inside. I had an inside dog growing up that got fleas one time. It was definitely a lesson in making sure that sort of thing never happened again.