Marginally related personal story: My grandparents had a Pomeranian that was spoiled rotten when I was younger. My grandfather (sit tibi terra levis) would sometimes buy McDonalds for the family - nothing unusual there. He would feed the dog a few nuggets - nothing unusual there.

… he would tear apart each nugget with his teeth into little pieces for her before giving them.

We human beings can be so weird about these precious creatures we’ve taken in as our charges. XD