I thought I was going to stay away from this situation.

I figured there were enough people debating, advocating and conversing about the love of dogs here in America. So I thought it best to use my time elsewhere.

But the more I thought about it, I realized if I were a dog, I’d probably be a lot better off!  In fact, I think I’d rather be a dog… maybe Paris Hilton’s pooch.  I certainly wouldn’t lack any bling!  Or maybe ex-Kansas City Chief cornerback Eric Warfield’s doggy - he lugged his prized Chihuahua around in a $1,500 Louis Vuitton bag and lavished it with a $6,000 necklace. 

But I think I would settle for “Trouble”.  That’s the late Leona Helmsley’s white Maltese, to whom she left a whopping twelve million dollars.  Whoa! Twelve million for boo boo-in’ wherever I want, biting whomever I choose, and ripping the clothes of my dear masta!  Yes, I’d rather be a dog.

Think about it… a dog gets to walk around claiming territory at will. You could make a killing in Real Estate! If someone upsets you, you just crap right there - or maybe a nice little tinkle right there on their foot.

But seriously, though, have we lost all touch with reality? Do we realize that people are murdered everyday in Iraq, there is genocide going on in Africa, the majority of Latin America is living in poverty - and don’t forget are problems here in America.  Lack of education in inner cities, crime and poverty on the rise, to name a few. But I guess it’s not our problem. Trouble needs bling on the neck and caviar for dinner.

Quite possibly this fascination with our dogs has more to with America’s indulgent lifestyle and separation from the rest of the world and its problems.  You certainly can’t worry about Trouble being fed when you’re worrying where your next meal is coming from.  Or poochie’s 1100 sq ft play house when you’re worrying about how you’re going to pay rent. Is this healthy folks?

Oh, I’m not immune; I found myself enjoying walking Billy Bob (my friends 5 year old Golden Retriever) through the park last night. I almost had my initials engraved in his teeth (as one Milwaukee Brewer once did).  But I thought, what would the mob - or (oops) PETA do to me? 

Has American culture become so consumed with itself that we no longer place value on human life? The struggles of others no longer affect us.  I’m not saying a dog, cat or other kind of pet doesn’t have a place in American society, but it seems that we have gone beyond having a pet for the purposes of companionship, assisting the elderly or handicapped, to a completely excessive over the top behavior – a behavior that is offensive to the rest of the world.

What Michael Vick did was not simply against the law, because even without the law, what he took part in goes against the laws of nature. Legality did not make Vick a criminal, but the violent nature of the act made him immoral.

Will we as Americans be advocates for the rest of the world in need in the same way we came to the defense of the pit bulls in the Vick case? Will we roar, scream and holler for the people of St. Louis, Sudan, Iraq and Latin America… Or are we too tired and too busy with poochie to care?

I don’t know, but right now in America I’d rather be a dog.