Reply #17: I'm only a punctuation nazi, not a pluralization nazi, but ...

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

This is going to give me a headache, I can tell.

OUR status can be singular, if we share the status of something. If we are working on a project, like painting a fence, then we can talk about OUR status being 50% done. But if you're painting the fence and I'm roofing the garage, then we would talk about OUR statuses as separate, plural things: I'm 50% done, and you're slackin' at 25%.

The (singular) status of starving dogs would probably not make sense. The starving dogs would have individual statuses. Some of the dogs could die, and others could be just fine. Especially in a dog-eat-dog world, where starvation would be a self-correcting phenomenon, at least in the short run.

:hi: