The phrase “dogs are man’s best friend” originated in the American Supreme Court in 1870 when a lawyer named George Graham Vest defended a man who loved his dog named Old Drum. According to Rover.com, Vest argued that when a neighbour killed Old Drum for trespassing, he took more than the life of a pet – he killed a family member.
For years we’ve lived in comfort knowing that yes, dogs were “man’s best friend” and that they loved and appreciated us just as much as we loved and appreciated them. Sadly, this might not be so accurate.
According to the New York Times via The Cut, these furry creatures don’t just love humans, they love every species they come in contact with – including (but not limited to) monkeys, ducks, deers and more.
Speaking to the New York Times, dog behaviour specialist Clive Wynne says the pet’s “abnormal willingness to form strong emotional bonds with almost anything that crosses their path,” helps them thrive compared to other animals.
For example, pups outnumber their distant cousin, the wolf, by 3,000 to 1.
I know what you’re thinking: but my doggo loves me because he follows me around everywhere and is so well-behaved. Unfortunately, Wynne says it’s only thanks to thousands of years of domestication.
In fact, humans have been breeding dogs for so many years, we’ve changed the genome so that most are associated with “indiscriminate friendliness.”
As much as it’s heartbreaking to hear that your pupper doesn’t love you the most, it’s also heartwarming to know that dogs have the ability to love any species, so long as they meet members of that species early enough in life, according to Wynne.
Perhaps it’s this “indiscriminate friendliness” that makes us love dogs so much. It also helps that dogs have an innate ability to “read” their owners. “They have nothing to do all day but watch us, study us, look for a pattern of actions that will lead to something good for them,” Wynne says.
“The essential thing about dogs…is a desire to form close connection, to have warm personal relationships – to love and be loved,” Wynne writes in his book Dog Is Love. “I like to think that’s a miracle – one that I wish sometimes would make us stop and consider the wonder of it all. Yet we take it for granted.”
There you have it: we don’t deserve dogs, but my God, we will keep loving them and receiving love in return.