A Tribute to Dogs
The Purest Form of Love
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I love my dogs. Sometimes, they jostle with each other to see who can sit closer to me. It’s glorious.
I have difficulty trusting anyone who doesn’t like dogs; it’s a big signal for me, and if you don’t like dogs, you might be stuck on yellow.
The bond between humans and dogs is transcendent—it feels ancient, profound, and uniquely pure.
Dogs do not demand conversations, judge your taste in TV shows, or care if you’ve had a bad day. They simply want to be near you. Whether they scratch at the bathroom door, curl up at your feet, or meet you at the door like you’re the prodigal son, even if it’s only been a ten-minute trip to the store, their presence is so clear - it’s love.
It’s tempting for sceptics to reduce their affection to a clamouring for food. Surely, some argue, their motivations are selfish—rooted in instinct, dependence, or survival. Yet science and everyday experience suggest otherwise: dogs are not just furry opportunists. Their desire to be with us reflects something more profound—an attachment rooted in love.
A 2014 study using fMRI brain scans revealed that dogs process their owner’s scent in the brain’s reward centre, the caudate nucleus, associated with positive emotions. The study concluded that a familiar human scent is more rewarding to a dog than food. Yep, they love you more than beef.
Research shows that dogs can read our emotions by analysing facial expressions. In a 2016 study, dogs demonstrated the ability to distinguish between happy and angry faces, responding with empathy and concern to signs of distress.1
When you look into your dog’s eyes, something magical happens; it’s not lust (we will not go there); it is too pure for that. You and your dog release oxytocin2, the hormone responsible for bonding between human mothers and infants. This hormonal exchange underscores the emotional depth of the human-dog relationship.
What other creature desires your presence so completely and so unconditionally?
Does your wife come in and visit you when you’re taking a dump? A dog’s sense of smell is much better than ours. Do you think they don’t get your stink? It isn’t coming up roses for them.
Our conversations do not entertain dogs, nor do they share our human obsessions with productivity or aesthetics. Their love is not transactional, though it is sometimes mistaken for such. They lie silently beside you or on the floor. They don’t require your words or actions to validate their love. Just being near you is enough.