People tend to love dogs more than humans and a study confirms this

When a dog enters our life, even for a short time, it usually stays! How many people have you heard firmly say, "a dog in my house? ... Never!" Only to find them a few weeks later, lying on their living room carpet playing enthusiastically with their puppy like a kid?

Unfortunately, no one can resist the infusion of joy, vitality, and love that a little dog manages to give, and when one establishes a bond with a dog, it is treated as a member of the family. 

On this last aspect, the sociologists and anthropologists of Northeastern University and the University of Colorado wanted to conduct a nice little study, to try to understand how far human affection for their canine friends goes.

via businessinsider.com

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The 256 participants were asked to express their feelings by listening to tragic stories - completely invented - involving human beings or humans and animals together.

The results were truly incredible! Most people showed more empathy and emotional involvement for the stories in which a dog was suffering rather than a human being.

Compassion and solidarity increased as the dog's age decreased with puppies provoking the maximum emotional involvement, even more than human children.

According to experts, this is because people perceive dogs as defenseless and vulnerable, and tend to want to protect them. However, when it comes to a human being, unconsciously, other humans think that a human being could always find a solution on their own.

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In addition, dog trainer Russel Hartstein added, commenting on the research, dogs provide unconditional love, and therefore, the bond that binds us to them is devoid of the superstructure of interpersonal relationships that instead, we find with our fellow humans.

The result is that many people treat their dogs as they treat their children - and sometimes even better.

The conclusion, then, is that the dog is REALLY a member of our family, and can win a place in our hearts, comparable to that of other family members.

After all, a dog loves us madly, remains close to us even if we are poor, protects us and never betrays us --- can we say the same thing of our fellow humans?

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