Dogs Are People, Too

Gregory Barnes, a professor of neuroeconomics at Emory University, and some of his colleagues have been training dogs to go in an M.R.I scanner completely conscious and unrestrained. They were hoping to discover how dogs' brain works and what they speculate of humans. After training and scanning a dozen dogs it was concluded that dogs are people, too. Results from the M.R.I scans showed an astonishing

similarity between dogs and humans in both the structure and the key function of a key brain region knows as the caudate nucleus. The caudate plays a major role in the anticipation of of things we enjoy. Meaning, dogs enjoy some of the same things humans enjoy.

Description: Dog
Date: January 20, 2013
Found at: http://andreanotk.blogspot.com

Personally, I don't know where this whole research is going. I can't imagine dogs and humans being thought of as equal. I understand that there may be some similarities between dogs and humans, but there is still a fine line that separates humans from dogs and other animals. Dogs may enjoy the same things as humans, but that doesn't necessarily mean that we share the same emotions. I believe that humans have certain levels of emotion that dogs don't. I both agree and disagree with Berns when he states that, "DOGS have long been considered property." There are laws that are now set in place that protects dogs from things like abuse, just like how there is for humans. However, I also agree with the statement made in the article that said, "Though the Animal Welfare Act of 1966 and state laws raised the bar for the treatment of animals, they solidified the view that animals are things — objects that can be disposed of as long as reasonable care is taken to minimize their suffering."

Article Link:http://www.nytimes.com