A story to prove that dogs are thinking, feeling creatures.
Every once in awhile I read or hear of something that makes me stop and wonder just how intelligent dogs really are. We have tests for measuring intelligence and temperament , and there are competitions and titles for comparing one dog to another, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the part of a dog that is much like humans are, or at least what we like to hope humans are. The part that makes them caring, compassionate, loyal, and brave. The story I read that got me thinking like that again was in the news yesterday about a stray German Shepherd, in Thomasville Georgia, who pulled an injured, total stranger from a wrecked car and dragged her 50 yards back to the highway to summon help. Some say that dogs don't think, that they act on instinct alone. But I can't see how any amount of human intelligence can reason away what this dog did. To my way of thinking, he clearly saw a problem, had some measure of compassion on the woman and cognitively reasoned out something that he could do to help. There are too many stories like this around for me not to believe that dogs know a lot more about what's going on, and have more emotions, than some people give them credit for. The next time you see a stray dog on the side of the road, think about it. And the next time you hear of a litter of puppies born that will take homes away from the poor souls sitting in the pound with only three days left to live, think about it. Are they "just dogs"? I believe they're thinking, feeling creatures. As the species in dominion, we owe these thinking, feeling creatures more than what our society has been providing for them. Read how you can help here and here. Read the news story of the stray dog and the injured lady here.
