In 1718, the poet Alexander Pope, a renowned dog lover, also criticized Hales's work. In conversation with his friend, Joseph Spence, Pope reportedly said of Hales: "He commits most of these barbarities with the thought of its being of use to man. But how do we know that we have a right to kill creatures that we are so little above as dogs, for our curiosity, or even for some use to us?". Pope, however was also a close friend of Hales and considered him the model of the man who loves his God.