Why I want a dog - and why you should want one too: The best friend you haven't met yet.

 

Dogs. For around 15,000 years, we’ve been best buds. Dogs were used as hunting companions for their ability to track and hunt animals. They would also help clean up left over food and were used as pack animals, such as sled dogs. They’re bloody useful. Humans saw that and domesticated them, gradually manipulating their evolution over thousands of years. They went from cold-blooded wolves, to your Nan’s stroppy bastard of a Shih Tzu because we loved having them around the place.

It was just for these practical concerns that we brought them into Team Human. Dogs have an impressive level of emotional intelligence, which can tap into our own emotional range. As we’ve used, raised and reared dogs, they have become more understanding of human wants and needs, as being a “good dog” was generally beneficial to their survival. That dopey labrador you see in the park who slobbers everywhere and is just SO BLOODY EXCITED BY THE STICK is a product of his own evolutionary journey.

Our syncretic bond makes dogs the perfect companion species for humans.

So, why do I want a dog?

I don’t hunt. I don’t need a sled to get to work in the morning, even if it’s probably faster than the number 15 bus into town. I also don’t need one to tidy up after me and carry my shopping up the stairs.

I need one because of their actual superpower. You wake up in the morning, alone in your space. You go to work, fraternise with your friends and your colleagues and come home. You open the door, into an empty space and just a Monstera plant to greet you. You have your tea, chill out in the evening and go to bed, by yourself. The next day – you go again. This can be so liberating, the empowerment of individuality and agency. I value my own space a lot as I often need time to recharge and rest. I’m very introverted and social occasions sometimes kick my butt. Some of my best days are those days where I’ve got a nice bottle of wine, a good movie and nowhere to be the next day. It’s how I re-energise. But it is a lonely world. Much of my blog talks about my battle with loneliness and those nasty voices that creep in and try to break that peace you find. Extroverts often have many, superficial relationships and friendships, while introverts often favour a smaller, more tight-knit group. The ability to be around someone and feel accepted, celebrated, supported and loved comes above all else. It gives us a sense of belonging, purpose and acceptance we find very difficult to give ourselves.

What do we do?

Enter…. DOGS.

The Dog. A furry ball of licks, sits and shits. Transformed into our perfect emotional companion due to millennia of friendship. The dog doesn’t care if you are too fat or too skinny. They don’t care if you haven’t had the energy to go outside much. They don’t care if you order another takeaway or if haven’t showered in a few days in a depressed lull. The dog is just always on your team. Are you crying? The dog cares. Are you angry, frustrated and tense? They can feel it. Are you too cold? The dog will cuddle with you. Your dog will never judge you, but it will always be there. It doesn’t have the cognition to really understand, but it can feel the emotional energy. It’s always happy when you get home.

 If you look after it, it will look after you.

Sometimes, you’ll think you’ve found the right human. More often than not, you’ll be wrong. Even sometimes you are right, but they won’t agree. That empty flat will feel even emptier.

Give a dog the same love, attention and affection you would show a human you care about and the dog will give you so much more in return. More than it can even understand, comprehend or quantify. This is the true power of dogs. They are so much greater than the sum of their parts and they are too humble enough to recognise it. They will go before us, that is true – but we will never forget them.

You can find the wrong human.

You can’t find the wrong dog.