Pets and Their People

Bek explores the inter-species connection

It’s a strange and fascinating concept when we think about it, this pet-ownership. One species taking an entirely different species into its living quarters and discovering that they’re not all that different from each other after all.

The remarkable thing is the bond that can form and adapt between a human and their pet. The emotional capabilities and capacities of animals are deep and probably far more extensive than anyone fully understands. The ability of a dog to sense danger or a cat to sense when you need some closeness is often far superior to that even of those humans closest to us.

Much has been made of the relative intelligence of cats and dogs, but what is truly outstanding is their capacity for love. Call it projection, call it transferral of emotions, but whatever you call it there’s something unexplainable that lives deep within a good animal-human bond.

It’s proof that there is goodness in the world. That we’re meant to be close to other beings and help each other to thrive. One look at a child’s face when they see their kitten after a long day at school, or the experience of returning home after a day at work to see the irrepressible physical joy your cat shows just because his favourite person is back to play will show you that however often we hear that people are getting disconnected through computers and blackberries, our need for emotional connections always remains. And so do the needs of our pets, who ask nothing in return but love.

Check out these inspiring stories about the human/animal connection. Grab a tissue first!

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Images by Natalia Photos and Buntekuh