This is backstory. I'm Ed Ayers. According to a recent poll, 61% of American voters own pets,

and half of those people let their pets sleep with them in bed. And so the question is,

how in the world did we go from having farm animals to treating our pets like people?

Well, it turns out a lot of this pampering has its roots in the late 1800s when the line between

human and beast was not especially clear. The idea is about how to discipline animals and how to

discipline children are shuttled back and forth across the species line.

This thinking was sometimes taken to an extreme. Circus elephants, for example, were forced to watch

as other elephants who rejudged guilty of killing their handlers were executed.

In the news reports, they say we wanted this to be a warning to the other elephants of what the

price of disobedience is. Today on backstory, the history of American's relationship with

their domesticated animals. Major funding for backstory is provided by the ShiaCon

Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial

Foundation, and the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations. From the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities,

this is backstory with the American History Guide.

Welcome to the show. I'm Brian Ballot, and I'm here with Ed Ayers,

Abrine and Peter Onis with us. Yeah, Brian, we're going to start the show today with a little bit

of poetry. From December 15th, 1768. This is Sarah Hand Meacham, and historian at Virginia Commonwealth

University, and she found this poem published in the Virginia Gazette. And I've pulled a section

here for you. This poem was allegedly written by a woman in memoriam of her pet named Phil.

Then did I stroke him scratch his head and in my bosom made his bed. For my affection was and still

is all engrossed by charming Phil. But he is gone near to return, and unless his to sigh and warn,

I'll therefore seek another pet, a husband I'm surely get.

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