Developing Empathy for Animals, a Case Study: Dogs

Dogs were domesticated an estimated 15,000 years ago and, since then, have been relied upon for a variety of "jobs," including seeing for the blind, hearing for the deaf, locating people trapped under rubble or snow during disasters, and providing "pet therapy" for the disadvantaged, sick, and elderly. In the course of these tasks, many dogs have performed quite extraordinary feats of bravery, including one seeing-eye dog named Dorado who was in one of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. Although he was unleashed and released by his guardian, Omar Eduardo Rivera, he painstakingly led his guardian down 70 flights of stairs to safety just minutes before the Tower collapsed. Rivera said, "It was then I knew for certain he loved me just as much as I loved him. He was prepared to die in the hope he might save my life."

Despite many other anecdotes and scientific studies showing that dogs are more than furry machines, countless of these social, intelligent, loyal beings are doomed to spend their entire lives in "solitary confinement," trapped at the end of a chain or in a small pen. That shouldn't happen to "man's best friend," but it does, and it is cruel punishment for these social pack animals who want—and deserve—companionship, scratches behind the ears, walks, and the opportunity to curl up comfortably at night.

The simple fact is that providing a dog only what is legally required—food, water, and shelter—merely keeps them alive. Food, water, and shelter don't bring happiness, joy, exercise, praise, or respect. Dogs require intellectual and emotional stimulation to be happy—they are not machines.

Imagine what it's like to be chained or penned 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to be tangled, thirsty, and lonely all the time. Look at the posture, physical condition, and faces of the dogs in these photos and notice the marked difference between those who have, courtesy of PETA, received even a little reprieve from their shabby lives and those who haven't.

 

Sign Up for E-News

Join Our Activist Network

Forward to a Friend