First appeared in Patrick Lucien Price's Amazing Stories. Up for the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards. Reprinted by Fred Patten.
Summary:
Herb, a large beige dog, and Wayfarer, a Siamese cat, demand independence from their owners. The owners bristle since they feel they haven't been bad owners, but Wayfarer says:
"The time for talking is through. What reason is there for four-footed animals to be subservient to two-footed? It's slavery."
The pets walk out, but life is more difficult than they expected--at least, than Herb expected.
Discussion (with Spoilers):
Utterly charming.
I was curious about the lack of the article "a" in the title. The phrase "a dog's life" originally meant a subservient one living off scraps (circa the 17th century), but I've heard it used in the sense of a life of indolence/laziness, often in a jocular sometimes derogatorily or admiringly manner. This may have more to do with how we've changed our attitudes toward pets over time.
This change in usage is also observed in the story. The dog starts out with a life of ease but without independence. He gains independence but endures hardships in the phrase's first usage yet ends up with independence and a life of ease--the more contemporary usage.
Is it something more? I've puzzled over this. There may be something I've missed. Perhaps it could parallel human independence from whatever system we labor under, but if so, the point of the target isn't clear, or else it is merciless toward all parties. Or it has no application toward human systems, just an amusing extrapolation if pets gained language skills and human-level sentience and started using these.
Is this how pets would talk? Possibly. Possibly not. But amusing, nonetheless.
Not a major work but definitely a pleasant encounter.
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