Like many, I am sick at the concept of SPCA partnering on Nintendogs. It's disgusting that a literal buck means so much to them.

I have a child at prime Nintendo age - 9. He's an athlete and an animal lover and a CHILD with all the unique immaturities we should expect of children. He's a sponge taking up all the information of how life works - more through actions and function than anything I can say a bazillion times each day. He also has a Nintendo Game Cube and we will never upgrade to the sort of system that runs Nintendogs.

I have to strictly limit the amount of time my child is allowed to play techno games each week and I enforce that limit with a sign in/out logue. If I didn't do this, the basic human nature of a young, immature child would be to do what is natural - the easy stuff. In short he would be playing on the damned thing for endless hours. If I left Nintendo to it's own seduction of a child's mind, my son would not get up off his butt to feed and care for the cats which he truly does love, nor would he go out and do the physical activities which keep him fit, healthy, trim and athletic. Hell, if I let it go far enough, he might even put the cube ahead of school and he loves school and is an excellent student, he might not get ready for hockey practices, even though he excells there also.

What is anybody thinking about when they think that something which so overpowers a child's mind that when left to their own devices, leaves a child with no desire to do anything else is a good thing? ESPECIALLY when this same thing's message is that animal care is a sit on your butt on the couch thing which stays inside a box and can be put away and ignored until the child 'wants' the responsibility at some later time?

Yup, sick but a good thing for the SPCA - when a buck is attached

Charlene East