Use of what and that when the group referred out of animals and men.
Who should use that, when the group we refer to are not 100% human or 100% animal? What is a good question to answer, which I doubt there is a clear rule on this.
Lord Asher
Amesh, The Man & His Dog, are now the rulers of this desolate planet.
What do you think of me as a layperson?
Animal metaphors can be used to describe other animals using the word “who”. Many examples include pets, talking animal characters in stories, and wild animals being captured in a nature documentary, just to name some examples. Generally, if the animal’s name or gender is known, it should probably be personified. (Note that even when talking about animals of assumed personhood but unspecified gender, I still use “it” where a person would be “they”—a human-centric bias).
So the dog reincarnated as a person, who I presume is now sentient and a main character in the story, should absolutely be referred to using “who” both in the present and in any references to her or his or her past life as
a dog.
