ohmidog!

When I attempted to shame dogshaming — all in good fun, of course — my post drew some comments, the majority of them criticizing for me for being uptight and having no sense of humor.

There’s nothing wrong, most of the commenters said, with posting a photo of one’s dog, along with a sign describing how he or she has misbehaved, on the Internet.

What dogs don’t know won’t hurt them was the common refrain. Dogs don’t get on the Internet, and wouldn’t be smart enough to be humiliated even if they could. The photos, many added, are posted in a spirit of humor and love (at least most of the time). How dare I suggest that, rather than making a sign, taking a photograph and posting it on the Internet, some pet owners might be better served by applying that time to fixing the dog’s recurrent misbehavior?

How dare I raise the question of how humans might like it if they were the subject of “shaming” posts, presented of course in a spirit of humor and love, and all in good fun?

And shame on me for expressing my personal opinion — that I wouldn’t want my dog’s lasting and permanent legacy to be photo and statement of misdeed on the Internet. And for pointing out that, as species go, humans have much more to be ashamed of than dogs.

Dogs would never post pictures of us misbehaving on the Internet, I don’t think, even if they could.

But PETA would, and has.

PETA has come out with a series of photographs — these are but a few of them — that turns the tables, depicting humans confessing to their misdeeds when it comes to their pets.

As PETA notes, “Dogs give us all their love and affection, but what are some people giving them in return? Dog shaming. Dogs don’t deserve that, but we can’t say the same for some guardians.”

You can find more shame on PETA’s official blog, The PETA Files.

(Photos:  The PETA Files)

Shame on dogshaming.

If you haven’t heard of it, dogshaming is being described as a “new sensation sweeping the Internet” — though we see it as more evidence that the Internet needs a good sweeping.

Humans — supposedly a sentient species — are posting photos of their misbehaving pets, along with a sign outlining what bad behavior their dog participated in.

It’s all in good fun, of course, though we have our doubts whether the dogs being depicted would think so — any more than, say, your son or daughter  would if you posted a photo of them and recounted their misbehaviors.

Apparently, rather than train their dogs, some people find it a better use of time to  photograph them with a sign stating the pet’s misdeed, and post in on the Internet.

The Dogshaming Tumblr site displays those submitted — no matter how foul the offense.

Most often they are things like humping, puking, farting, pooping, burping, groin-scratching, furniture destroying or vicious behavior.

All things — we’d note — that human males get away with regularly.

Dogshaming had more than 115 posts within a week of its creation, according to the “Today” show website, Digital Life.

One report describes the site as “payback” — a chance for dog owners to get even with their dogs for whatever it is they did. In those rare cases where that’s really a pet owner’s motivation  — as opposed to trying to be funny — we’d suggest maybe you’re not ready for a dog, or for children, or for seventh grade.

“If there is not a shaming element of your dog rehabilitation program, then it is doomed to failure, science has proven this,” they wrote in a post. That, too, is likely a joke.

Given the site’s popularity, it will probably get to the point, if it hasn’t already, where it’s humiliating dogs for profit.

Proving once again that no animal has more to be ashamed of than man.