Tonight's picture was taken on February 17, 2003. Mattie was 10 months old and learning to stand by holding onto things. That day, my parents sent Mattie this entertainment table. Like with any new thing, Mattie proceeded with caution. However, in time, he loved to push the buttons and keys and to have us sing along with his musical table.
Quote of the day: With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable. ~ Thomas Fowell Buxton
The article highlighted three things that caught my attention:
- One of the most striking advances comes from studies regarding oxytocin, a brain chemical that cements emotional bonds between people, but which is, according to new evidence, also responsible for interspecies relationships between dogs and humans. Levels of the chemical spike when humans and their dogs gaze into each others' eyes, mirroring an effect observed between mothers and babies.
- In genetics, UCLA geneticist Bridgett vonHoldt made a surprising discovery in 2009: Dogs have a mutation in the gene responsible for Williams syndrome in humans—a condition characterized by intellectual limitations and exceptional gregariousness. "The essential thing about dogs, as for people with Williams syndrome, is a desire to form close connections, to have warm personal relationships—to love and be loved.
- In one behavioral study, researchers using a rope to pull open the front door of a dog's home and placing a bowl of food at an equal distance to its owner, found that the animals overwhelmingly went to their human first. Magnetic resonance imaging has drilled down on the neuroscience, showing that dogs' brains respond to praise as much or even more than food.
What I do know is that Sunny has added a special dimension to our home. After all, after Mattie died, our home was absolutely transformed. It became quiet, sad, and bordering on depressing. We will always be aware of who is missing in our lives, but Sunny keeps us moving. He keeps us engaged with him and the world. Case in point, we took Sunny for a walk today and I can't tell you how many children and adults stopped to talk with us and asked..... 'can we PET your dog?!' Clearly even strangers get a happy feeling when interacting with Sunny!
What makes dogs so special? Science says love:
https://phys.org/news/2020-02-dogs-special-science.html
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