The point is indisputable: Humans are fascinated by pets. The greatest evidence of this assertion can be found in most of our homes. From hamsters to great danes, we love the animals we call our pets. And as pet owners, we are often guilty of taking this “love” to an extreme. We humanize our pets by giving them names like “Walter,” “Bill,” or “McCarthy.” We provide them with their own living space in the form of boxes, cages or special rooms. We give them their own bowls – sometimes it’s monogrammed over their name, so I guess we as humans wouldn’t be confused accidentally eating food from “Pooky’s” special bowl. They go on vacations, and they go to doctor’s appointments where the friendly nurses give them an extra dignity to our last names (“The doctor will see Midnight Rogers now.” Midnight Rogers? Seriously?). They even have their own furniture – beds, sofas, and chairs that are customized to accommodate their specific sizes and relaxation habits. And if they do not have their own beds, sofas, and chairs, they confiscate the beds, couches, and chairs of men, which we seem to give them willingly.<\/p>\n
Well, you may now feel a growing note of resentment in my prose streak. Yes, this is correct. I am a reluctant pet owner who has reluctantly given up on the family having many pets over the years. I was against taking my first goldfish, only to be doomed to that and every subsequent purchase of reptiles, ferrets, cats and dogs.<\/p>\n
Now that doesn’t mean I don’t like animals. On the contrary, I grew up with the same set of cats and dogs in our home as most people did. I can appreciate the company of a friendly dog \u200b\u200bor cat as much as the next human. But it’s the three “P’s” of pet ownership that frustrate me: poo, pee and vomit. Permanent paint duty seems like a very high price to pay for some tail wagging and a lively game of “fetch”. But apparently millions are still not discouraged by this downside.<\/p>\n
animal magnetism<\/p>\n
Of course, the world’s fascination with pets hasn’t been limited to mere companionship. Dogs have been particularly distinguished for their extraordinary civic contributions to society, serving the needs of the blind and disabled, while contributing to search and rescue, and the needs of law enforcement. And how many times did Lassie save young Timmy from horrific danger between 1956 and 1973? Every week, through my childhood memories. In addition, let’s not forget about their contribution to science. Rats, cats, and dogs have shouldered the lion’s share of duties as test subjects for countless experiments. We’ve made them guinea pigs in search of answers to almost every meaningful question (much to relieve the guinea pigs, I might add).<\/p>\n
The field of social sciences in particular owes a great debt to these animals as well. In the early 20th century, the study of how the brain works (i.e. psychology) began to merge with the study of how the body works (i.e. physiology) to create the field of behaviorism. Scientists have been trying to understand the mind-body relationship \u2014 cause and effect \u2014 of what makes us act the way we do, for good or bad. Some of the most remarkable research findings to date have come from groundbreaking animal studies by the likes of Pavlov, whose dogs helped us discover \u201cbehavioral conditioning,\u201d and Thorndike, whose cats helped establish the \u201claw of effect.\u201d BF Skinner’s rat models helped substantiate the theory that “positive reinforcement” trumps “punishment” when it comes to behavior change. Ultimately, our friends from the animal kingdom helped prove that organisms learn better, respond better and are more motivated by positive treatment versus coercive or punitive treatment. And for that, the staff, students, and athletes\u2014really, all of us\u2014have much to be grateful for.<\/p>\n
pet plot<\/p>\n
As someone who tries to live up to the claim that good men finish first, I also have to thank the animal world. So the least I can do is acquiesce in repeated requests for a new pet. Of course, this situation quickly led to a home inhabited by a lizard, a dog, two cats, and two rats. That’s right, rats.<\/p>\n
How it got this far, I’m not really sure. The answer lies somewhere between parental leave and pure mathematics. This means that they are outnumbered four to one. Or, more precisely, three children and a wife to one.<\/p>\n
But throughout the ups and downs of pet ownership, I’ve always been intrigued by one startling question: How do rats, cats, and dogs somehow live in perfectly harmonious coexistence in our home? I mean, these guys are supposed to be sworn enemies, right? Every bit of scientific knowledge I have about animals tells me that these species are natural opponents of one another. Come on, I read A Fly Went By. You know who was stalking whom. Tom and Jerry made each other’s lives a living hell, while Sylvester the cat was hunted down mercilessly by the local tailings bulldog. Facts are facts, man.<\/p>\n
But not in our house. Nature’s miracle happens. Fully observing their own kind of d\u00e9tente, our pets are happy to live in peace with their sworn enemies. Henry Kissinger would be proud of that. And there is really only one possible explanation for this aberration in the true course of nature: Our pets know how good they are, and have conspired not to spoil them by gnawing off their housemates’ heads.<\/p>\n
At this point I can tell you that Thorndike, Skinner, and Pavlov had no use for these particular cats, rats, and dogs as test subjects because they had been spoiled in the hope of recovery. Our domesticated mice would have ruined Skinner’s experiments by rejecting the allure of a mere plain cheese, while waiting to display the usual finely cut botanical exuberance that would impress Martha Stewart. Our cats would not have entered Thorndike’s experimental box maze, instead opting for the luxury of their own multi-level carpeted cage. And for the family dog, Pudge, our precious Papillion, let’s just say my wife has been anointed by the queen of our house forever, to the detriment of everyone and everything else. The modern world is very fortunate that the manipulative and corrupt Pudge was not part of Dr. Pavlov’s experiments in the early 20th century. If that were the case, I’m afraid it wouldn’t be the famous quote “Pavlov’s dogs”, but “Hugs pudding”. Fortunately, most scientists have tended to use ordinary lab animals in their experiments to control for consistency and avoid the scientific anomaly of a badly behaved rat, cat, or dog.<\/p>\n
Either way, I really can’t fight it. They helped prove that good guys finish first. And after all, I’m just human.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The point is indisputable: Humans are fascinated by pets. The greatest evidence of this assertion can be found in most of our homes. From hamsters to great danes, we love the animals we call our pets. And as pet owners, we are often guilty of taking this “love” to an extreme. We humanize our pets …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-guinea-rat"],"yoast_head":"\n