This image appeared in my Facebook feed this morning, and it struck me as one we might talk about. What do you see in this representation on an animal? What cultural commonplaces about animals? About human-animal relationships? About dogs in particular?
I see this dog being valued instrumentally because it states that dogs are worth having only because they serve as loyal companions, not just because they are dogs. If they were not able to be used for companionship (the way most wild animals cannot be domesticated to be companion pets) is this image saying that they wouldn’t be worth as much? If so, then this would indicate that humans are using animals in order to fill voids in the interpersonal areas of their lives which is not the same as appreciating animals for their intrinsic value.
Also, I think that this image was created by a Westerner because only in the West do people see dogs as companions. In the East, dogs are seen as pests and even sometimes food.
This image indicates that dogs are thought of as being loyal. However, is this a trait that they hold or that we naturally ascribed to them? For example, a lion is not really fierce but humans think of the lion that way. The lion only does what it has to in order to eat, the same as any other animal. However, I think that dogs have a natural tendency to be loyal because they are descendants of wolves which are pack animals who are loyal to their pack and their alpha male.
As I said earlier in class, I think the benefits that comes with the “contract” between dogs and people outweigh the costs. We feed and earn the respect of the dogs, and in return we win their loyalty. I do agree that those who mistake obedience with loyalty are mistaken and take their ineptitude to train a dog out in the wrong places. That blame falls solely on them.
Looking at this photo again, I can’t help but question the qualitative choice of “loyal.” I originally spoke in class about loyalty being earned, due to the investment a dog owner puts in raising a dog, which is at times a difficult process. The slogan “worth every dog hair” is comically a small part of the entire process of owning a pet, which is always an animal. We clean up after young kids and often get frustrated at the lack of communication due to the language barrier, which is exemplified by this photo. Although we may become frustrated with animals or pets, the responsibility of loyalty falls on the owner, not the dog.