Bearing in mind the quite frightening statistic that the vast majority of pet (companion animals) owners in the USA belief they will see their pets again in the after life, one has to ask the question, 'Do our pets love us?'
You come in from a day's work and 'Bullseye' wags its tail.
At least someone is pleased to see me. And the wagging tale elicits in its owner a love for the pet and one wonders is this love reciprocated. Does my pet love me?
Yet if one puts this down in print it rears up at you as the worst kind of anthromorphising sentimentality. Is it just that old 'Bullseye' is not happy to see me, but is just acting out its programme that when it sees me and smells me it thinks, FOOD! WALK!
Research show that just as we are genetically programmed to seek out signs of love and loyalty, dogs are genetically programmed to exploit this foible of ours.
Like all other animals except for some great apes (chimpazees, orangutans) dogs fail the mirror test for self awareness.
How can you said to love someone that you cannot even distinguish from yourself.
"There, there 'Bullseye', there's a good boy, who missed his Daddy all day. Walky walkies. Yes, who loves his Daddy?"
You come in from a day's work and 'Bullseye' wags its tail.
At least someone is pleased to see me. And the wagging tale elicits in its owner a love for the pet and one wonders is this love reciprocated. Does my pet love me?
Yet if one puts this down in print it rears up at you as the worst kind of anthromorphising sentimentality. Is it just that old 'Bullseye' is not happy to see me, but is just acting out its programme that when it sees me and smells me it thinks, FOOD! WALK!
Research show that just as we are genetically programmed to seek out signs of love and loyalty, dogs are genetically programmed to exploit this foible of ours.
Like all other animals except for some great apes (chimpazees, orangutans) dogs fail the mirror test for self awareness.
How can you said to love someone that you cannot even distinguish from yourself.
"There, there 'Bullseye', there's a good boy, who missed his Daddy all day. Walky walkies. Yes, who loves his Daddy?"
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