Dogs. Why does it have to be Dogs?

Once again, I'm not really playing anything new and shockingly am still messing around in Fallout 76 (definitely getting my $13 worth).  I was trying to figure out what I should write about this week because I doubt my adventures in Fallout 76 bullion (a currency) grinding are worth reading about.  My adventures in the fictional wasteland world did give me a few moments of pause though.  There are many enemy types in Fallout 76 and I don't bat an eye at killing them--human, non-human, if they attack me, I have no choice but to defend myself.  There is one enemy type that I am not thrilled to be killing--dogs, or any dog-like variety.  In fact, I'm just generally tired of having dogs be a type of enemy in games or there being some sort of plot point the involves killing a dog.

I am not exactly certain what made me start feeling so bad about taking out the dog-like enemies in Fallout 76.  Heck, 90% of the dog-like enemies in the game are completely grotesque--feral packs of mutated, hairless hounds; the hulking, green monstrosities that are mutant hounds; packs of vicious wolves in the forest--they don't exactly encapsulate the cute, cuddly dog image.  The other 10% of the dogs you encounter are guard dogs used by the obnoxiously violent gang, the Blood Eagles.  Those dogs, even decked out in their dog armor, look more like your typical K-9.  I think the part that got me is the animation and sounds when a dog is wounded--they can't get up, they make yelping noises...and it just feels a bit too realistic for me.  I've started to try to avoid having to fight any of them.

A Fallout themed Dogmeat sticker from Redbubble.

It's not like Fallout 76 is the only game that uses dogs as an enemy--countless other games do too.  You could argue that humans use dogs as guards, so it's a sliver of realism.  As an animal lover, I just wish it was a trend that would go away.  I just want to pet dogs, not kill them.  More dog petting!

Maybe it's a lot of game-dog related trauma that has built up over time.  One of the worst dog-related game moments I can recall comes in Telltale's The Walking Dead series (spoilers, I suppose if you haven't played it...but it is several years old, sooo, just be warned).  Clementine encounters an abandoned camp and is scavenging for supplies when a dog appears.  It has a collar with nametag, so it's obvious that this dog probably belonged to the now notably absent humans from the camp.  As Clem is scavenging in the camp, the dog hangs around and there is a really nice moment where she finds a frisbee and gets a break from the bleak survival in the game to play fetch.  Not content to simply let us enjoy the moment (if you've played the series, you know how dark it is) things go south quickly as Clem tries to open a can of food that she found.  The dog is starving and lunges for Clem...it's a scary moment.  Clem manages to shove the dog off, but not before it has bitten her arm.  Then, it gets even worse--in the struggle, Clem has shoved the dog onto some broken tent stakes sticking out of the ground...the dog is impaled on the stakes and is still alive.  Now, she has a particularly brutal choice to make--do you leave the dog to suffer or do you put it out of its misery?  It's brutal.  Which is pretty much the tone of TWD, but this part in particular left a strong impression.

So, my personal appeal to game devs is no more dog enemies.  No more horrible dog death plot points (like the one I described above)  I'm scarred enough as it is.  Dog petting...YES!  Dog killing...NO!