Why We Love Our Dogs

When people hear that I spent more than a year wandering the aisles of Americas dog shows while working on a book about the culture, the first question they inevitably ask is: Why? Why do otherwise normal humans with decent jobs and sound minds spend all of their free time and much of their disposable income on what seems like such a frivolous pursuitprimping and preparing their dogs to be judged in the show ring?

Its really quite simple: because people really, really love dogsalmost as much as they love their children. Sometimes, even more.

That said, there are probably plenty of you who own dogs who still dont see how that explains the motivation to put them in dog shows. So let me put it to you this way: Do you adore your dog to the degree that you sometimes call yourself Mommy or Daddy? Do think he or she is the most beautiful and special creature there is and ever has been? Do you often brag about him or her to friends and family? Do you post adorable photos on Facebook? Well, this is exactly what we do with our children.

And its why people show dogs. Because while dog showing is ostensibly about breeding its the way the best and healthiest stock is identified its also about validation.

Just as parents want teachers to tell them their kid is the smartest and politest in class, dog owners want to hear people lauding their dogs beauty and obedience, and theres no better place to hear that than in the show ring. Which isnt to say that dog show participants need a ribbon to prove what they already know. If there are 3,000 dogs entered in a particular event, youll find 3,000 humans whod argue for hours about why their dog is best.

Its almost impossible not to feel that way. Because the bond between humans and dogs is more intense than our bond with any other species, and theres not even a close second.

Dogs were the first domesticated animals, the ones that made domestication of all others possible. Scientists cant seem to agree whether it was 10,000 or 15,000 or 100,000 years ago, but its inarguable that dogs evolved from wolves because of us. They were selected and honed to be our companions to help us hunt, to guard our homes, to look after our livestock and even our children and, over time, to do so many useful and wonderful things that it boggles the mind.

For all the talk about wheels and metal and gunpowder, we often overlook one very important tool that helped lead us out of the caves and into societies: our dogs.

We have dogs that serve in combat (famously assisting in the capture of Usama Bin Laden); dogs that detect bed bugs; dogs that defend sheep from wolves (and cattle from cheetahs), in the process protecting the wild animals too by keeping ranchers from shooting them; dog lifeguards; dogs that guide the blind and allow the disabled to live better lives; dogs that sniff out cancer and drugs and invasive species. And dogs that simply provide companionship, making millions of lives around the globe much, much happier.

There seems to be no job dogs were asked to do that they didnt figure out how to do capably, and if only they had thumbs wed probably have taught them to drive us around by now.

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Why We Love Our Dogs