The Last Meow Summary

“Our love affair with our pets has gotten out of control” (Bilger 10). Burkhard Bilger is the author of the literary non-fiction piece, “The Last Meow”, that was published in The New Yorker September 8, 2003. He explains the extent people are willing to go for their animals and pay any amount of money no matter how much it may cost. According to Bilger, pet owners spend about forty seven billion dollars a year on their pets, that ranges from food all the way to surgeries. I agree with Bilger’s claim that owners are getting out of hand. Animals don’t need to live past the time they were meant to be here for, owners shouldn’t prolong the inevitable, they also could be using all that money for something else. Many pet owners was their animal to live long a life, yet no one knows what the animal wants. Bilger said, “Injured animals no doubt feel experience fear and pain; the parts of their brains that process those feelings (the amygdala, the thalamus, and the hypothalamus) are similar to ours, and

Levering said, “Before Karen and I got married I was hoping to have his car done in two year… I can’t say I haven’t compared this transplant to a down payment on a house” (Pg. 5). Even owners figure that their money can go to things that are more important. Karen, Shawn’s wife, has medical bills she needs to pay off, and she also is not working as much because of the car accidents she previously was in. After Karen was in the accident they found out that she was unable to conceive, so her motherly instinct was misplaced to her cat Lady. (Pg. 4) A lot of owners have misplaced instincts that are meant for other humans. That is why they pay so much to help keep pets alive, because they are their family, and no one wants a family member to die. People like the Levering pay thousands of dollars for their animals to stay alive because they feel like their