Monday, June 21, 2004

STUFFED ANIMAL CRUELTY

It being a perfect June day here in Lost Angeles, I went shopping in Century City which is an outdoor shopping mall so that a girl can enjoy Nature and Commerce at the same time.

At Victoria's Secret, in the shop window and around the store, were the cutest pink polka-dot dogs you ever saw. Well, I talked to the saleslady about what would happen to the pups when they changed the display case. I was thinking I might adopt. She went and got the manager.

The manager of Victoria's Secret was young and dark and sort-of hip, you know with the greasy hair look that 's popular with the sort-of hip. Although I'm sure his manners are successful with young women who are insecure and trying to get male approval with how they look, he sure didn't know how to talk to a woman like myself who understands that all of civilization is just a construct of your males to give them more chances to have contact with women. In a perfect world, this young buck would hope to have a girl like I just say hello to him. But things is topsy-turvy right now, and his manners have not been honed by female indifference, and so he didn't even let me get a word out. He scowled. He sighed. He knew he was important, and I was not. If this keeps up, civilization is going the way of the Edsel.

Anyway he told me, and not even with regret, that when the displays changed, those dogs would be destroyed and thrown in the trash. Destroyed! Can you believe that? You could tell he was looking forward to doing it himelf. Your sort-of hip people do not like 'cute' even if they do have to put up with it working in Victoria's Secret. The customers who do, lured in by canine cuteness, would not be happy to imagine those dolls just smashed and trashed.

I know they are his property and he can do what he wants, but many people feel the same way about their living dogs. It's mine and I can abuse it any way I want. It is not so big a step from pink polka-dot to dalmation as you would think. Cruella D'Evil would be proud of Victoria's Secret. She's prob'ly on the board of directors

A humane business would be grateful for the chance to dispose of their promotional dogs humanely. A civilized manager would not enjoy denying a customer anything. A promotion-seeking company would donate the dogs to a children's hospital, or coordinate a cute adoption event alongside some animal rescue organization. Or just let people come on the day the display changes to pick them up and give them a good home. But no. Into the dumpster with the doggies. It's may not be a crime, but it's a shame.