Dogs are People, Too

A recent opinion piece in The New York Times offers support that dogs are people, too.  Gregory Berns, a professor of neuroeconomics at Emory University, trained dogs (including his own) to stay still in an MRI machine without sedation, something that had never been done before.  This allowed scientists to see, for the very first time, how individual dog brains function.  What he found was enlightening:

The ability to experience positive emotions, like love and attachment, would mean that dogs have a level of sentience comparable to that of a human child.  And this ability suggests a rethinking of how we treat dogs.

Dogs, and probably many other animals (especially our closest primate relatives), seem to have emotions just like us.  And this means we must reconsider their treatment as property.

You can read the entire New York Times entire article here.

Doug and I never considered Biscuit our property; and we never liked being referred to as Biscuit’s “owner.”  Biscuit was and will always be part of our family, similar to our soon to be furry family member, Victory.  There is a wonderful and often indescribable connection on many levels between humans and animals.  Dogs have immediate emotions, are brutally honest; fiercely loyal; very smart; and they do not judge.  I believe this world would be a better place if humans had the same value system as dogs.   I hope that this article raises awareness about this fascinating research that animals are people, too, and all animals deserve to be treated with respect and dignity similar to how dogs/animals treat their human counterparts.