Firstly, allow me to wish you and your pet-owning, animal-loving families all the very best for 2022 and beyond.
Because of the relevance of this topic at this time, I have decided to revisit pet adoption, so that readers, old and new, who are seriously considering adding a pet to the household, will be even more convinced that they are making the right decision.
I urge you, dear readers, to consider adopting a dog or cat in the New Year.
Permit me to share with you some thoughts on human – animal relationships, which in turn might move you in the direction of adopting a pet from the many Shelters (e.g., GSPCA, PAWS FOR A CAUSE, Rosewood, ARAP/Tails of Hope, among others.
I have often argued that the education a child can receive from observing the pregnancy, birth process, the mother dog’s care for its young and the actual rearing of a puppy or kitten to adulthood is something that money cannot buy, and textbooks cannot capture fully. But it goes even further than that.
That friendship between a pet and a human, is a special and unique bond. Many authors/researchers, recognise that, in addition to being fun and fulfilling, owning a dog may actually benefit a person’s health. When an affectionate greeting from your dog, at the end of a stressful and especially difficult day, seems to lift your spirits and ease tensions, it is not just your imagination. Your pet can in fact be good for you, both mentally and physically.
Scientists have shown in several studies that people in the presence of pets simply behave in a more relaxed and open manner. They are happier, smile more readily, communicate better and may be more likely to get regular exercise – all of which lead to improved general health.
In one very interesting study of heart attack patients at the University of Maryland, it was revealed that those who owned pets were more likely be living one year after the heart attack than those who did not. The researchers also found that the simple act of petting a cat or dog consistently lowered a heart patient’s blood pressure.
This affinity that humans have for dogs did not just arrive. It has evolved from that very time, tens of thousands of years ago, when humans decided to cultivate, befriend, breed and love wild forebears of the present-day dog. I know someone who believes that the whole human-dog association started with the canines (felines also?) conning us. They observed our behaviour, and they decided that humankind looked like it was going somewhere upwards in the evolutionary tree. They latched on to us and mimicked our behavioural patterns, so that we would believe that they were easy to have a good relationship with. In return, we would feed them and keep them warm. Consequently, we receive immeasurable loyalty and protection. Indeed, it seems that compelling evidence is emerging that dogs and cats having figured out how to join the community of an entirely alien species, which is in itself evidence of their sophisticated social competence.
I know that, as a scientist, I should not be even thinking of attributing human characteristics to dogs and cats— you know, like feelings. Well, the scientists’ code is beginning to change. Researchers are now seeing what every dog (and cat) owner knew all along and which we veterinarians are fully cognizant of. Dogs especially do exhibit human characteristics: grief, envy, jealousy, anger, rage, bellicosity, love, hate, guilt, remorse, happiness, resentfulness, anxiety, fear, contentment, deceit, pride, arrogance, shyness, bravery, kindness and willingness to help, desire to make the human happy, recklessness, sadness, depression, vexation, (e.g. at being blamed wrongfully), gluttony, malice (aforethought?), low self-esteem, laziness, greed, stubbornness, playfulness (including engaging in pranks), selective forgetfulness, vengefulness, boredom, communicativeness using only the eyes, flirtatiousness, coyness, loyalty, protectiveness, etc. I am sure that I have left out some important characteristics that you have detected in your pets. Let me know, so that I can include in the list.
A professor, an Animal Psychology, Alexandra Horowitz, wrote a seminal tome called “Inside of a Dog”. It became a bestseller when published in 2010. Here is what she wrote:
“In learning how to study the behaviour of animals, I was taught and adhered to the scientist’s mantra for describing actions: be objective; do not explain a behaviour by appeal to a mental process when explanation by simpler processes will do; a phenomenon that is not publicly observable and confirmable is not the stuff of science. These days, as a professor of animal behaviour, comparative cognition, and psychology. I teach from masterful texts that deal in quantifiable fact. They describe everything from hormonal and genetic explanations for the social behaviour of animals, to conditioned responses, fixed action patterns, and optimal foraging rates in the same steady, objective tone”
Then she added: “And yet”. What came after those two words was the confession that, traditionally, science — as practised and deified in texts — rarely addresses pet owner experiences of living with and attempting to understand the minds of our companion animals.
Since then, a lot more objective studies have been and are being carried out and shared with the public in easy-to-read articles. The Scientific American (May/June 2015 issue) carried an in-depth cover story on “Why we love pets and why they love us — the science behind the bond.” Quite a revealing treatise!
What does all of this mean? I am a strong advocate for pet adoption. I trust that this article would serve to lessen your trepidation and worry when you visit an Animal Shelter to choose a companion animal as a complement to our family. In future columns, I shall be giving advice on the important elements which must be taken into consideration before adopting an animal and giving it a forever home.
Please continue to support the genuine and well-established humane societies in Guyana, the main objective of which is to minimize the suffering of animals.
Again, please accept our kindest wishes for 2022.
