These stories pop up in the news every so often, and when they do, it makes you wonder just what in the heck some people are thinking.

The Main Line Animal Rescue in Wayne is trying to find homes for 40 beagle-mix dogs it acquired last July.

The dogs - all 40 of them - were living in a house in Voorhees, N.J.

Now, I like dogs. I like people, too. But I wouldn't want to live in a house with 40 dogs or 40 people. It's crazy.

Does a person who keeps 40 dogs - or cats or ferrets or wolverines or any creature - really think he or she is providing a loving home for them?

These 40 dogs in question were in horrible shape, the president of the animal shelter said in a news account.

They'd lost hair because of mange, they were malnourished, they had Lyme disease and heartworm, some were blind, and some had 18 toes on their hind paws because of inbreeding.

He called it the worst case of animal abuse he'd ever seen.

Americans love their pets. It's estimated that there are 60 million pet dogs in this country, and U.S. consumers spent $12.5 billion on dog food in 2003.

Interestingly, Americans that same year spent only $1.8 billion on hot dogs purchased in supermarkets, far less than they spent on dog food.

Well, maybe that's not so interesting. But it's interesting to me. It says something about us as a people. I'm not sure what, but the fact that a nation spends almost 10 times as much money on dog food as it does on hot dogs must mean something.

But you don't hear the presidential candidates talking about that. No, they just keep rattling on about terrorism and health care and the economy. They steer clear of tackling the really difficult issue of narrowing the dog food-hot dog deficit, a vital part of any national economic picture, to be sure.

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