People show compassion and empathy towards dogs more than human beings. That says a lot about where our morality stands as a society.
Many of us are much more likely to cry during the scene of a movie where the dog dies compared to a person. The film “Marley & Me” is a great example. Dogs serve a purpose to many people that other individuals simply cannot.
Dogs are the best companions out there. They will clean up any mess of food without complaining, mainly because they love food, but also because they literally cannot talk. Speaking of not being able to talk, dogs can never judge you like other people do.
In addition to dogs being selfless, most just want their owners to be happy. When greeted by a dog, they are always happy to see someone. To this day, that kind of loyalty is incredible.
According to Mandy Oaklander of TIME Magazine, owning a dog reduces stress, depression, and anxiety, which pet owners would surely vouch for. “The rise of animal therapy is backed by increasingly serious science showing that social support–a proven antidote to anxiety and loneliness–can come on four legs, not just two.”
It is questionable if us as humans even deserve dogs as companions. Dogs are great because of their unique personalities and unconditional love, but also because of their incredible sense of smell and ability to be trained.
Service dogs act not only as companions, but as personal assistants to people with disabilities. “Though the studies are small, the benefits are impressive enough that clinical settings are opening their doors to animal-assisted interventions–pet therapy, in other words–used alongside conventional medicine.” They can be trained in a wide range of tasks from acting as eyes to a blind person to alerting a person with diabetes or a seizure, according to The American Kennel Club.
Some dogs are even able to be trained to sniff out drugs and bombs, working alongside police and the military. The fact that humans are severely limited in such skills makes us extremely lucky to have them as a resource in that way.
The fact that there are people that do not like dogs or are not ‘dog people,’ is confusing to many, but not uncommon. John Bradshaw of The Conversation claims that our desire to have a pet as a companion plays a part in our evolution as humans. In that case, genetics play a role as to why some people love dogs and some do not.
He claims owning a pet does not directly consist with a person’s life span. In contrast, studies have shown that people view dogs the same, if not higher than human babies.
In a recent study, Stanley Coren of Psychology Today tested a situation in which, people had to choose between saving another person or their dog. The study concluded that over one-third of the people chose to save their pet. Many more studies have been conducted in order to understand why humans are more empathetic towards dogs than other people and found that it is more complex than expected.
Age played a large factor in decision making, even more than if it were to save a dog or person. Because of this, people reacted similarly with infants and dogs. As humans, our instincts are to save the vulnerable and dependent subjects, like puppies and babies, instead of a grown and capable person.
We love dogs and dote on the cuteness of puppies because of their innocence. Having a pet dog is like having a best friend who is always happy to see you. The responsibility of taking care of another being is gratifying and rewarded with unconditional love.
