animals catalyse social interactions, healing and community. just visit any dog park where their humans think of them as people, rather than brutalising them through lack of care and attention. bored dogs are indicative of just another back up to your armed response alarm system. the ontological distinction between humans and non--humans is being increasingly questioned in what is called critical animal studies, from anthropology to organisational sciences. a social justice perspective on human--animal relations tries to contribute to an intellectual argument to take non--human animals more seriously as “co--citizens” in the (organisational) life world. this may have wide ranging implications for the life styles, ranging from the types of food we eat, to liquids we drink, to the ways we think about the human superiority in this world, says harry wels of the free university of amsterdam. is this what our dogs are trying to tell us? omunye umbhangqwana enkulu yamagama -- a ""friendly"" futhi ""friendly"". friendly -- okuqondene abangane, friendly kahle -- usekelwe ubungani.