Thanks and a tip of the hat to James Clair Lewis for passing this along.
Originally shared by Beth Campbell Baker
Some time ago a friend and I had a very unpleasant discussion with a man about animal's mourning a death of a loved one. She and I both attempted to show that depresssion, in an animal, is possible. Having worked with animals all my life I fully believe they have that capacity. Here is an article that further affirms my own theories.
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/11/11/dogs-grieve-owner-loss.aspx
I've trained and handled search and rescue dogs for nearly 15 years. Dogs - all dogs - are EXPERTs in human behavior. In my experience dog's that become despondent after finding a deceased victim are merely responding to subtle cues given off by their handler.
ReplyDeleteDogs are place learners which means that they rely on environmental based cues to frame their response. So when another dog dies in their family, their environment is disturbed and then so are they ... but with all due respect to the researchers, I believe that is different than being depressed.
Do dog's have feelings? Yes. But we should be careful to not anthropomorphize.
I agree.But I understand both ends of the leash too. The poet in me lives in both worlds. But I do agree (and understand)
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