I'm not sure this ever made much sense, but time is not helping.

Nintendogs was a game for the DS where you take care of a puppy. I actually didn't enjoy it much as a game, but I still feel a little twinge when I realize that my dog Potato is still in that cartridge waiting for me to come throw a frisbee for him.

At any rate, the dogs couldn't actually die from neglect, but this is an imagining of what it would be like if they could.