We can better understand something about ourselves by thinking about why we want pets around. We humans have a unique lifelong need to nurture, to take care of other living things. Those of us who have children to nurture typically have them in our homes for only about one-third of our lives, but the need to give and receive love lasts throughout our lives. Many people meet this nurturing need with hobbies such as gardening or collecting. A pet fulfills our nurturing need more efficiently than such hobbies because it returns some of our care and affection.
A friend of mine captured the essence of pets when he described them as “four-legged Peter Pans caught between culture and nature.” As part of our culture, we communicate with pets as we would with other people. As part of nature, the animals we keep are innocent, independent, honest, and free. They respond to situations based on their natural instincts. Because we share evolutionary emotions, gregariously sociable dogs in particular understand our body language and a variety of our words and actions. The relationship we build with a family pet can be as intense as one with another human being.
A friend of mine captured the essence of pets when he described them as “four-legged Peter Pans caught between culture and nature.” As part of our culture, we communicate with pets as we would with other people. As part of nature, the animals we keep are innocent, independent, honest, and free. They respond to situations based on their natural instincts. Because we share evolutionary emotions, gregariously sociable dogs in particular understand our body language and a variety of our words and actions. The relationship we build with a family pet can be as intense as one with another human being.
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