Have we got dogs and human beings mixed up?

Recently I have found myself caught between my love of the Royal Family and my dislike of dogs.

I don’t know which side of that statement will make me more unpopular with readers of en. (If this were The Guardian, both would be equally heinous.) But my guess is it’ll be the dogs. One of my guilty viewing pleasures is Channel 4’s Gogglebox, justified by my need to keep in touch with popular opinion. The main takeaway? Britons really love dogs.

It’s no surprise then that, to mark Prince William’s 43rd birthday, the Prince and Princess of Wales released a photo of him looking lovingly into the eyes of a cocker spaniel puppy, part of a litter born to Orla, the family’s pet dog.

Cue this statement from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals): “Shelters here and worldwide are overflowing with puppies”. Preach it, I think to myself, the world doesn’t need more dogs. Having spent my childhood denouncing my father’s view of man’s best friend, I now find myself totally on board. (Ditto with predestination.)

PETA’s statement continues: “… churning out a litter in the midst of this animal homelessness crisis is staggeringly out of touch.” Hold on now, I won’t stand for that sort of criticism of Wills and Kate. I’m still drinking daily from a commemorative mug for their wedding.

In a comment piece for the i newspaper, Simon Kelner remarked that PETA’s statement was “perceived by many as joyless and hollow virtue-signalling” and pointed out that “attacking those who have a litter of puppies is rather like complaining about people having children when there are so many infants seeking adoption”. Subtext: stupid.

A study earlier this year found that there are over 13 million dogs in the UK. That’s more dogs than dependent children, according to the most recent census data. It’s no wonder that the late Pope lamented that “dogs now sometimes take the place of children”.

But maybe the problem is less that we’re elevating dogs to human status and more that we’re degrading humans to dogs.

Another story in the same week as the Prince William photo decried the spiralling cost of vet bills, running with the headline “Vet Bills: More pets being put down.” Yet all this came in the week after the House of Commons voted to decriminalise abortion up to birth and to allow state-sanctioned assisted suicide for the terminally ill. The latter is supposed to be about the dignity of choice in dying. But the vet bills story surely illustrates that, once an avenue has been opened, the economics of the situation are liable to force us down it in ways we didn’t initially intend. That’s already the case with abortion. A survey last year found that 57% of terminations were “partly or mainly” due to financial factors.

We can find it in our hearts to lament the unnecessary killing of dogs. Can we not do the same for human beings?

As the church, let’s continue to pray and continue to hold out our message. Let’s be those that prize the preciousness of life, the dignity of humanity, and the vital goodness of Jesus. For when we come to His table, we find that while the crumbs for the dogs would have been enough for us (Matt. 15v26) – and more than we deserve – we’re invited to sit and feast as sons and daughters of the king.