The pet treadmill

Every now and again I see something that truly offends me. This is one such occasion. May I present *dum da da daaaa*: THE PET TREADMILL!



See the actual website here

I've been trying to understand the rationale behind it, and haven't been able to come up with anything more creative than: this is the device of a morally responsible fat person.

It's a sad sad time we've come to live in, when people can buy a dog, and then instead of neglecting their duties of walking it, they instead decide to buy a "pet treadmill", so they can still feel like they are doing their pet a service, while still not missing their favourite tv show, and not raising their heart rate. It's most definitely better than the lazy fat person who will buy a dog and not walk it at all. It could be (weakly) argued that it's better than the person who just hires someone to walk their dog, because in this instance, the owner may still feel like their bonding with the animal, and they're meeting their obligations as a pet owner because they are personally administering the exercise.

Actually, while I've been writing this I've just come up with a more legitimate excuse. Perhaps this is the device for someone who owns a pet but lives in a hideously polluted place (eg. Bangalore, Bangkok, Beijing - and coincidentally all beginning with "B") and can't take their dog outside for a run for fear of dying of fumes. Or for the person who can't go outside due to gang warfare and fear of being shot, and therefore must have this device to give their pet exercise. These are perhaps more legitimate excuses.

Still, doesn't explain why it's being sold in Australia.

Sad, sad times.