We really like our pets. Dogs dress better than I do even though they have fur, they get pushed around in strollers even though they have four (count 'em, 4!) legs and are perfectly healthy, and they get taken to spas to be pampered. As if they don't get enough pampering at home.

Cats are given free reign to come and go as they please, eat and get petted whenever they demand it, and won't lift a paw to protect you if you are attacked.

And don't get me started on birds and fish.

We are nuts about our mutts, crazy about cats, and will put up with all manner of varmint for the sake of... what?

Why do we feel the need to own, keep, or adopt into our families species so remote from our own that they don't even have opposable thumbs? Heck, some don't even have thumbs.

Is it the need for unconditional love? Many people far smarter than me (I) will tell you that animals are incapable of feeling love. These brainiacs will tell you that your dog hangs out with you because you give him food and shelter, that yours is a symbiotic relationship in which your pet gets something in exchange for whatever he unknowingly gives you in return. If there's any love involved it is purely a single sided affair; you love your pet, it couldn't care less.

It's hard to tell with cats (and some women people), but I'm not so sure that dogs don't feel and display love for their owners, masters, pack members, or symbiont. Why else would any self respecting pooch let people dress him up as big bees, sunflowers, or cowboys?

My daughter calls it "fuzz therapy." She says that petting an animal, and that it lets you pet it, is a very basic form of inter-species communication. When we pet our pets we speak to them at an emotional level: we feel good when we pet and the pets feel good being petted.

My daughter may be on to something, but I don't think it really matter why we have and love our pets. We do and that's the end of it.

So, with that in mind, take a look at Ultra Kawaii, a podcast available at the iTunes Store.

Even if you are not an animal lover some of the photos and movies people post of their pets are pretty cute. Take a look at the Upside Down Dogs episode. How can you look at all of those reposed pups and not overdose on cuteness?

Other episodes feature cute kitties, labs chasing lasers, and other furry, flea-bitten fun. There are well over 40 episodes of Ultra Kawaii so you can dose yourself daily with cuteness for well over a month.

If you want more information with your cute you could watch Pet Trends with Maggie Galiant. It's a talk show hosted by Maggie and Dixie where people bring their pet on and they talk about all things related to pets.

Each episode is mercifully no more than 4 minutes long. Any longer and you'd go into shock from cute pets and bad puns.

This is a nicely done, family friendly show with about 15 episode available. Pet Trends with Maggie Galiant. Check it out.

Ok, from cute to decidedly un-cute; Pets is a British podcasts featuring dogs, cats, and others going on about their day to day lives. Be warned, the language is foul, the situations are fit for adults, and the videos take a while to download, but it is funny.

Again, not for the little ones so watch this one while you're waiting for The Tonight Show to come on.

That's a wrap for another week. Next week, in keeping with Valentine's Day, I'm going to focus on LOVE. I don't know much about the subject myself, except what I've learned from movies, which could explain a lot.

Until next week. Chow!

...

That's a type of dog, you see?

...

It's a pun...Ciao! ... Chow!

...Never mind.

More free stuff at the iTunes Store (with direct links):

Vern Seward is a writer who currently lives in Orlando, FL. He’s been a Mac fan since Atari Computers folded, but has worked with computers of nearly every type for 20 years.