I love my dog. I also happen to think that Charlie loves me back. As a matter of fact, I get all kinds of grief from my children who question who I love more, them or the dog. Of course, I think the answer to that is obvious.
Some folks will tell you that dogs don’t experience emotions like people do or even have feelings, but I have to disagree. Many of us saw the viral video of the woman from Murrysville and her dog. Her dog hadn’t seen her in two years, and it passed out from excitement when the two were reunited. There are also studies being conducted in Atlanta, GA where scientists are researching dogs’ brains, in an attempt to correlate brain activity and dog emotion. So far, their studies have found that the response is similar in dog and human brains when they see the one they “love.” The signals even originate from the same place in dogs as they do in humans.
So, what does it mean that a dog could be experiencing emotions similar to a human?
Does that mean that dogs are the same as people? I have many friends who claim that pets can be better companions. Some folks even profess to prefer animals to people.
As tempting as it is to equate our animal friends to people, we know that it’s not the same as our human relationships. Sure, animal relationships can seem nicer. Isn’t that because our animal friends can’t actually “speak” their minds, though? They can’t use words to express how we have hurt them, emotionally or physically. They can’t question our motives or our loyalties. They can’t tell us when we have ignored them or made them feel left out. Sure they can act out, but it really doesn’t carry the same weight as when another person, especially one you love, expresses these things to you.
Being in a relationship means getting the bad with the good. It means being accountable for our words and actions. It means our motives and loyalties will sometimes be called into question. That can be some messy stuff. I think C. S. Lewis makes a great point about relationships and love.
“There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.”
Trying to keep things neat and tidy leads to the danger of a lonely and miserable life. We have to be willing to get dirty to enjoy the treasures of heaven.
Let’s not keep our hearts locked up from our animals OR one another. It is a great risk, but certainly a risk worth taking!
Christy Cabaniss - Pastoral Minister
