Poll: A third say pets listen better than husbands

A third of pet-owning married women said their pets are better listeners than their husbands, according to an Associated Press-Petside.com poll released Wednesday. Eighteen percent of pet-owning married men said their pets are better listeners than their wives. Christina Holmdahl, 40, talks all the time to her cat, two dogs or three horses -- about her husband, naturally. "Whoever happens to be with me when I'm rambling," said Holmdahl, who's stationed with her husband at Fort Stewart in Georgia. "A lot of times, I'm just venting about work or complaining about the husband."

It would be a toss-up whether Bill Rothschild would take a problem to his wife of 19 years or the animal he considers a pet -- a palm-sized crayfish named Cray Aiken. His daughter brought it home four years ago at the end of a second grade science project. Rothschild, 44, of Granite Springs, N.Y., considers Cray a better listener than his wife, "absolutely. She doesn't listen worth anything." He doesn't get much feedback from the crustacean, but he insists its better than the alternative.

It's not every day men score a win in the Lifestyle section of Boston.com. I usually avoid that section of the site altogether because it is basically a propaganda machine established to discredit men. I basically wasn't working today though so I decided to dabble. When I saw the title of this article I was sure it was going to be more of the same. Men suck…Women have it so bad…blah blah blah. But they polled the wrong guy. Now I'm sitting here drafting a letter to the Celtics to elect Bill Rothschild as a hero among us. I mean most men who were asked if they're pet or wife was a better listener would probably dip and dodge the question like a haymaker from Iron Mike. I'm sure some might admit they preferred the pet but they'd at least hide behind the mask of anonymity. But not Bill Rothschild. He was playing to win. Oh, women would rather talk to dogs? Well I bring my problems to Cray Aiken the family crayfish. Game. Set. Match. Bill will never pay for a drink at the pub again. And my guess is he'll be there a lot to avoid the wrath of his wife once she gets a hold of this article. Regardless, I'm giving the man a slow clap from my cube right now.