Jan 07 2009
Do Pets Perceive Love?
I finally discovered for myself how comforting it is to have a pet fall asleep in my lap.
What a strange sensation it is to feel responsible for this little creature for the remainder of it’s life. Not unlike what we feel for a child, although I acknowledge that there is a difference.
In our later years a pet often takes the place of a child in our lives. And we LOVE these little critters; they are part of God’s kingdoms. I know what I feel for our new little puppy, sometimes sleeping quietly and sometimes fitfully, in my lap. Occasionally she gets the hiccups, which I quickly cure by applying pressure to each side of each of her thoracic vertebra, a technique that works equally well with humans, by the way.
So in my silent reverie I wonder what she feels. Does she have any “emotional body” equivalent to our human dimension? Does she feel love or affection for me and my wife in the same way that a human might?
We assign words like “loyalty” to her behavior, but does she feel any sense of what we equate to loyalty in human terms? I sometimes think “yes” and sometimes think “no.” Most of all, though, I think it doesn’t really matter. I think she just feels “safe” and “provided for” (human terms again) and that is enough.
The feelings she generates within me and within my wife are all that really matters. What we give to her in terms of human emotional love is really what we perceive that we receive in return…and it is bountiful and Good.
CheyAnna is pictured here at age 6 months, 26 pounds and 15 inches tall. She is called a Dalton Terrier, a cross between a Dalmation and a Boston Terrier (plus there is a little something else in there that makes her unique).
Hi Doug,
Interesting question.
I believe animals with their primitive instincts do know what “love” means to them. I am not sure if animals know what “love” is. I’ve often wondered about this matter too.
I keep two pet female rabbits over in Indonesia. It is amazes me how each responds to my care and stroking the top of their heads and bodies.
One of the two rabbits will even jump to sit on my lap wishing to be stroked. She does not do that with anyone else. Besides, I am in Indonesia for a matter of three days in a month and yet both rabbits “know” me.
I reackon CheyAnna is no different too. Good looking too! I love dogs but my wife doesn’t. Just too bad that I can’t keep one at home.
God Bless!
I do believe that animals recognize, enjoy, and seek love and affection. I believe they “know” who does and doesn’t love them. Like you, I often wonder what else they know. How much of what I say to my dog does she truly understand? I don’t know. However, I choose to believe that she understands a lot and I continue to act accordingly.
What a nice picture of your dog! I’m sure animals know who loves them and your dog loves you. I know my cats know they are loved because I play with them, pet them and tell them so all the time. They both come running to greet me in the morning and when I get home from work. Sometimes they even come on the bed with me during the night and let me pet them nice. Pets are wonderful companions!