Not a pet

It was suggested that I give Arlene to someone who lives in the country, that I free him in the woods (to be humanely dismembered by raccoons?), or that I return him to the feed store. I knew exactly what I was going to do. “I could never butcher one of my pets,” a friend reproached, which pissed me off. Neither could I. But semiferal [sic] Arlene, who swaggered around the yard snarfing up centipedes and bullying the hens? Not a pet.
~ Jennifer Reese (September 17, 2009)