The circus has been in Happy Valley for hundreds of years, and it will remain long after Ringling Brothers pack up their train and leave. While the circus of which I speak might not feature lions and tigers and bears (oh my), it does feature animals that are the proud result of thousands of years isolation, intimidation, punishment and selective breading known as domestication.

Admittedly, I am no zoologist, but I doubt that any zoologist would interpret the progression from tiger to tabby or wolf to wiener dog as natural selection.

Even after centuries of domestication, pets continue to have their spirits broken in order for them to be trained to ignore their natural instincts to claw furniture and mark their territory on carpets. Most are forced to live inside or in small, fenced-in areas, depriving them of their innate urge to roam free.

Many have body parts amputated in procedures such as de-clawing, which leaves them defenseless against predators.

If their reproductive rights haven't already been surgically removed, chances are that their natural urges to procreate will be limited to their owners selected partners in a quasi-fascist attempt for pure-bred offspring.

Any pet that attempts to experience some of the '60s' free love can often look forward to having their mongrel offspring euthanized at their local animal shelter.

I, for one, see no ethical difference between seeking entertainment from a dancing bear or a slipper-fetching dog.