Whenever someone says something about “Man’s Best Friend,” you immediately conjure up an image of your immediate canine companion or perhaps a childhood buddy never forgotten, or there’s a multitude of other reasons that my cause you to pause and form some mental picture of an animal with paws.
Depending how you search the interweb, you might find that dogs were domesticated around 33,000 years ago, or domesticated in two different geographic locations (Europe & Asia), or they domesticated themselves (wolves were the first table beggars). Independent of the history, the present canine condition is that dogs are everywhere. Now more so than ever, since mankind has seen fit to ‘play God’ with their DNA and created ‘hybrid animals;’ e.g., a “Morkie” (Maltese + Yorkshire Terrier). Supposedly there are 340 breeds, but the American Kennel Club only recognizes 167. No wonder that the beloved animals now come in almost every conceivable color, size, shape.
I saw an interesting news piece the other night regarding dogs and cancer research. Evidently dogs & humans have a 95% match in DNA, especially with regard to the immune system. What’s bad for the dogs but good for us is that when a dog gets cancer, the disease manifests itself just as it would in a human. No surprise then that dogs are prime candidates for cancer research for potential cures especially for melanoma, and breast & prostate cancers.
It’s hard to believe that those noble researchers are not only trying to find cures for our cancer, but trying to cure the disease in dogs. Especially when you read about that PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has been trying to stop what goes on in our nation’s laboratories and universities. PETA estimates approximately 60,000 a year are used for research with the priority being ‘toxicology.’ What this equates to is the injection of dogs with toxic substances to determine how much it takes to make them sick. A certain university was caught buying homeless animals from shelters in the areas for their research; supposedly that practice has ended.
So at this point (like me) you’re probably a combination of being sickened and angry. How could ‘our researchers’ stoop to such vile practices against helpless animals? Just look around you as you drive about, putz around your yard or see it on social media; at some time you’re likely to see an animal that’s either homeless or improperly cared for. People seem incredibly capable of rationalizing why it makes sense to just kick a dog (or cat) out on the side of the road, leave them in a house when they move, or literally kick them out of the house and repeat the abuse if the animal dares to come back. Maybe these are the lucky ones when compared to the ones that are never let out of cages, forced to live in their own excrement, and maybe even eat it as they starve.
In true human fashion, we can swing from one extreme to another, and how we treat our best friend is no different. On the positive side, dogs become part of our family – nothing is too good for them. They’re lavished with love and ashamedly get better care than homeless people. Dogs are trained to walk into danger along our side in law enforcement and the military. They offer their guidance to the blind and solace to those of us that suffer from PTSD.
In summary dogs see humanity in every light and in darkness. They hear our love and hate; not just what’s directed to them, but what we say and do to one another. Just like God.
Isn’t it ironic that Dog is God spelled backwards?
babychristian55 