The Cheegan Confessional: Leather

Specifically: boots. Ok, I broke down and for the first time in probably 10 years bought a pair of leather boots. Why, you ask, would an animal-loving person such as yourself do such a thing, when there are all these nifty man-made materials these days? My reasons:

Have you seen the prices at Moo Shoes?? (Plus, from my experience, they are not water-proof. Trust me.)
My Payless shoes are death to my feet.
No, I cannot wear used shoes. Sorry, I just can't do it.
Snow + cold + hours in the dog run + canvas sneakers = wet cold miserable feet.

So I just bit the bullet and did it. Do I feel badly? Of course! But what's a girl to do? Don't my feet deserve love? When it's warm out I forego shoes whenever possible, and when necessary wear my un-evironmentally friendly vinyl shoes, but I'm finding I just can't do it in the winter. If I promise to not go on a shoe rampage and turn into a mini Imelda Marcos can I find forgiveness??