Reading=Writing=Reading

First off, I read to my animals. We have been working our way through Watership Down (which I have never read before) in the evenings, and they seem to enjoy it. Do I think that animals understand the words to a story? Yes. Will I argue that point? No. Why? Because it doesn't matter. I read to them because I enjoy it.

Have you ever read to babies? Do they understand it? Granted, in most situations, they will grow to understand it after some amount of time. Chances are good that your child will not go through life not understanding the words that are read to them. But what if they do? What if your child has some sort of a disability, and they will either die before they are old enough to understand the actual words, or they will live to adulthood, but their brain will never mature to the point of comprehending language. Should you not read to them in that case? No. It is still a soothing, positive experience for them.
Anyway, that was a rabbit trail on my real point (a rabbit trail before I even get on topic...that may be a new one, even for me).
My point is more the dumbing down of America, by the dumbing down of animals. No, I do not think that if you don't read to your pets, your child will be stupid. Though, if you don't read to your child, the child might turn out stupid...But that's off track again...
The pictures of animals with captions that are completely misspelled irks me to no end. You know what I am talking about. The pictures that say things like, "Out of my way hooman." Ok...your kids are reading those. They're also reading text spelling, and hardly being taught how to spell anywhere in real life. I caption photos of my animals. I write the things that I think they'd be saying, going by the expressions on their faces, and guess what...my animals can fricking spell. They also use punctuation. There is no reason to use poor spelling just because it is a picture of an animal.
Some of the worst offenders in these cases are the owners of pit bulls. I feel like it is their attempt to make their dogs look like big gentle goofballs. But making your dog look stupid doesn't mean that they seem gentle. Just because they talk about their "teefers" instead of teeth, and refer to themselves as "pibbles", that doesn't mean that people will like them. Think about bullies, whether in real life or movies. They're not always the smartest people. They're big and strong, and not necessarily in possession of massive amounts of brains. And making your dog, who is obviously big and strong, look like it is stupid, makes it look like a bully. Not what pit bull (not fricking pibble...seriously, that term really annoys me) owners want.
Spell things correctly. Whether it is a caption that you are writing for yourself or for an animal, or for the lavender you're growing in your garden, write it properly. The upcoming generations are increasingly stupid. No offense. But if you work with kids in this day and age, you realize that they are not able to read or write at the level they should be able to at their age.

Read to your kids. I sort of just learned how to read when I was little, by having books read to me, and by listening to my Mom teach my brother how to read. Read to your animals. They'll enjoy it (I used to read poetry to my pony when she wasn't feeling well, and she'd perk right up), and it will build your vocabulary. And your reading ability. Too many people read in a monotone anymore, because they are not used to reading out loud. You don't have to be a showman, but the ability to read out loud in a way that your audience will enjoy is a skill.