It was a sunny Wednesday morning. The call I received was that EMT’s are requesting an animal control officer at their location to assist with a dog at the residence. I arrived and was told they need to transport the elderly female in the home to the hospital but there is a dog in the house that would be left behind. The dog is currently on the bed lying next to the woman and they need it moved to be able to load the woman onto a stretcher. I entered the small bedroom and saw a frail old woman on the bed and an equally old black Labrador Retriever lying next to her, clearly not wanting to leave his owner’s side. The woman was no longer conscious, and I was told she is on hospice care and will not be returning to the home. The dog looked worriedly at the many strangers that had suddenly invaded the small room. And then everyone looked at me, waiting for me to perform my duty so they can perform theirs. I stroked the head of the old dog and spoke to him. I put my slip leash around his neck and asked him to jump off the bed. The dog did not budge. I again stroked his head and encouraged him to get up. The dog had no intention of leaving his owner. Unfortunately I had to pull the dog off the bed with a bit more force at this point. He reluctantly followed me outside to the front yard where he relieved himself. I loaded the animal into my vehicle and watched as the EMT’s rolled the unconscious woman out to their ambulance.
Both taken away from a home they had shared. I swallowed hard so the tears would not sting my eyes. I felt like the grim reaper. Like a horrible monster that had come into this home and tore apart this love and loyalty between a dog and his owner. I felt like shit.
The dog was taken to the animal shelter and I made sure to speak with staff and explain the situation. The dog was older but was still getting around fine and, unlike his owner, had a few good years left. We set him up in a large kennel with lots of fluffy blankets while the staff made some calls to local rescues that specialize in senior dogs. I was told later that the dog was transported to such a rescue fairly quickly.
The bond between an animal and their human is something that can never really be explained. In this line of work I’ve seen my share of human-animal bonds.
If you are the provider of food and security, you are the preferred bond for an animal. They don’t differentiate between rich and poor, pretty or ugly. You could allow a dog to sleep in your bed each night, or give him shelter in a barn. They will bond with you all the same.
We humans put too much emphasis on comfort and extravagance when it comes to our pets these days. In reality our pets are still animals who require very little to be happy and content. Providing a lavish lifestyle makes us feel better, but is not seen as a necessity by the animal. I admit that I love to buy special treats for my dog, schedule him for doggie day care and provide a Tempur-Pedic dog bed for his comfort because it makes me feel like a better owner. But if I did not provide these things and simply fed him and paid attention to him everyday, he would still love me the same. And he does in fact prefer to sleep on the hard floor instead of the $300 dog bed.
Having money to provide adequate vet care can alleviate illness and ailment, but the dog does not know this and loves its owner who will never take him to a vet, the same as the owner who gives him everything. Your cat does not care how many toy mice you buy him every Christmas, he will still love you if you gave him a plastic bag to play with. The bond between us and our beloved pets is something very special and goes very deep for most humans lucky enough to experience it.
Over the years of working in the animal control field I have seen many dogs that are aggressive towards anyone but their owner. For whatever reason they are fearful of others and react in an aggressive manner and only feel safe in the bond with their human. This makes it especially difficult when we are called to intervene for one reason or another, and we know that their human is the only one that can adequately control this animal but that is no longer an option. At one call the owner was arrested and slated to be spending time in prison. His dog was one with a history of bites and no family or friend was willing to take him. While he was fine being handled initially, he would deteriorate in the shelter kennels, worsening the anxiety and aggression. At another call a man had committed suicide and, of the two dogs left in the home, only one was friendly enough for the family to take. The other was unfortunately not a dog that could safely be let into the public. These animals had a very strong bond with only their person so once that person was removed from their life they were lost. I have even done welfare checks where the animal was being neglected or mistreated by their owner, but still they had a bond with that person, and they were reluctant to leave. I could explain to a human why they should leave, that their situation is shit, but you cannot reason with an animal. Especially if the bond with this person is all they’ve ever known. You can only hope that once they are in a new situation and place they form bonds with kinder people.
The human – animal bond is complex but also so very simple.
Anthropomorphism is defined as the tendency to attribute human forms, behaviors, and emotions to non-human animals or objects. I think most pet owners are guilty of this. It strengthens the bond with our pets, and I don’t see a problem with that. I personally don’t have children and my pets are the dependents that fill this role in my life. I love being greeted by their happy energy every day and feeling that unconditional love. I love being their protector and provider and can imagine this might be what parents with human kids appreciate in their bond. That being said, I still treat my pets as the animals they are and recognize they are not my actual offspring. But the bond I have with my own pets is something very important in my life.
When my cat Noodle passed away a few years ago I was devastated. He was 15 years old and had been my little sidekick since he was a kitten. It was just him and I alone together before my husband lived with me, and before all the other pets we had. It was just him and I against the world and we shared a very special bond. Although he loved my husband, he acted differently with me than anyone else and we shared something that was unique to us. So many people have felt that bond with an animal and it is something truly wonderful. I believe that when we die one day, we get to spend eternity with the souls that we shared such a strong bong with here on earth. A bond this strong cannot simply be broken.
