Over 30,000 years ago, a subset of grey wolves set in motion the longest toxic relationship in history. It began with eating a few scraps, scavenging at the edge of Homo sapiens camps. Those first tentative steps towards a bipedal ape turned gradually into a rewarding symbiotic relationship — humans and dogs hunted together, offered each other protection and even childcare. Symbiosis turned to companionship, to affection and loyalty and now, to viral content about “fur babies”. But all the marketing about love of dog cannot hide the cruelties of man toward his best friend.

Kindred Companion Sciences, a US-based biotech start-up, claims to have created the first hypoallergenic dogs by using the CRISPR technique to edit their genes. The tweak, though, may have unintended consequences. After all, human beings have been “gene editing” dogs since they were first domesticated. And many, if not most, “purebreds” suffer from diseases and deformities as a result. Yet, the dachshund with a bad back and the pug on the verge of a heart attack do not hold it against their “owner”.

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Between Homo sapiens and Canis familiaris, then, is an abusive friendship. A dog will accept its people as they are, warts and all, and it is a rare pooch that bites the hand that feeds it. That hand, though, might want its genes edited to avoid an allergy. Perhaps that’s less cruel than breeding programmes of the past and present. But let’s not call it love, or its victims “fur babies”.