Why We Love the Dogs We Do: How to Find the Dog That Matches Your Personality - Softcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Stanley Coren an international authority on sidedness, is professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of Born to Bark: My Adventures with an Irrepressible and Unforgettable Dog (2010), among other books.

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Chapter One

Loving and Hating Dogs

It was a hot day. The light wind off the Mediterranean Sea did little to cool the men, who were on their hands and knees. They were gently uncovering something buried in the sandy soil using small trowels and brushes. They were archaeologists, and the site that they were excavating was known as Ein Mallaha. It is located on the coast of what is now Israel and is one of the remains of many small villages that were built near the shore. The archaeologists call them Natufian communities; they date back to around ten thousand years ago. This Old Stone Age settlement was moderately sophisticated. There were about fifty round huts, some with stone foundations. There were some agricultural tools, such as flint sickles and grindstones for wheat. There was also evidence that animals, such as sheep, had been domesticated.

The location where the archaeologists worked was an ancient cemetery. The Natufians buried their dead with treasured personal ornaments and special tokens of the deceased. Thus these graves provide valuable information about the people and the culture of this time. This archaeological team had already uncovered some carved bone and stone artwork and were hoping for more.

The body they were uncovering was that of an elderly man. He was in a curled position, with knees up near his chin -- the traditional burial posture of the time. As they uncovered the upper part of the body they found that the man's head was resting on his left hand. Working to clear the area around the hand, they found that it had been gently placed on the chest of a four- or five-month-old puppy. A surprised scientist stood up and brushed one eye with the back of a sand-covered hand. "He must have really loved dogs," he said, "to have chosen to take one along on his journey to eternity."

A HISTORY OF COMPANIONSHIP

Even from the dawn of civilization, some five hundred generations ago, we have evidence of the powerful bond between some people and their dogs. If we had some kind of video camera that could go back in time, we could see for ourselves, for instance, that Rameses the Great had four dogs that he particularly loved. According to information carved into his tomb, one was a great hound named Pahates but called Kami by his master. This dog was so special that it was allowed to sleep with the Pharaoh. If our time-traveling camera does a fast-forward, we can find other historical and powerful figures sharing their beds with their dogs. Alexander the Great, resting from his battles, was known to sleep beside his great Mastiff, Peritas. Mary Queen of Scots spent her long hours of prison confinement with her small spaniels, and they comforted her through the night. In 1587, when she was beheaded, it was found that she had hidden one of the toy dogs under her voluminous robes. Afterwards, according to one eyewitness, it "would not depart from the dead corpse" and had to be carried away. It is reported that the person who ordered her execution, Elizabeth I, spent her own last night in life "counsolled only by her dogge" -- a very similar toy spaniel. One of Elizabeth's direct successors eventually gave his name to that breed of spaniel. Charles II of England also slept with his Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and even had a ceiling mural in one of his bedrooms decorated with them.

Fast-forward again to the time of Czar Peter the Great of Russia. He slept with his Italian Greyhound, Lissette, and in one instance this relationship may have saved a life. A member of the court had been falsely accused of corruption. Peter's wife, Catherine, was apprised of the circumstances and attempted to intervene on the accused man's behalf. Czar Peter, not known for his calm demeanor, flew into a violent rage and forbade her ever to mention the case again in his presence. Distraught at the mounting evidence of the man's innocence, Catherine wrote a message to Peter, petitioning for clemency. She then signed it with Lissette's name, affixed her paw print, and tied the note to Lissette's silver collar. Later that evening when Peter was preparing for sleep he found the message. He sat on the edge of his bed gently petting Lissette's head and then, without further comment, called for his secretary and had a pardon drafted that night.

At about the same time that the Russian leader Peter was resting beside his Italian Greyhound, the Prussian leader Frederick the Great was also sharing his bed with a similar dog. Like the old man at Ein Mallaha, he loved his dogs so much that he wished to be buried near them. He had a special mausoleum constructed on the palace lawn, where it overlooked the graves of eleven of his dogs. Although political unrest nearly prevented his wishes from coming true, Frederick now rests inside that royal crypt next to the body of his last dog.

Stories such as these, which show how deeply individuals bond to their dogs, could be told of literally millions of people, ordinary and exalted alike. There are stories of kings and also of presidents: Lyndon Johnson, who filled the White House lawn with his pack of Beagles; Ulysses S. Grant, who appointed his Newfoundland dog to the post of White House steward; or George Bush, who told me that during his presidency he would often be joined in his morning shower by his Springer Spaniel, Millie (see plate 1). There are actors and entertainers who dote on their dogs, such as comedian Joan Rivers. Her Yorkshire Terrier, Spike, has been called "the world's laziest dog" because he doesn't have to walk anywhere on his own power. Rivers has hired a man to tote him around in a Louis Vuitton carrying case. She also gave Spike a catered Bark Mitzvah party with kosher food and decked him out in a yarmulke with his name embroidered on it. Then there are the serious scientists and their cherished dogs, such as Sigmund Freud, whose Chow Chow, Jo-Fi, attended many of his therapy sessions (plate 2). Freud said that the dog helped to calm and reassure his patients, especially young children. Later he claimed that he depended on Jo-Fi's judgment to tell him about his patients' mental states. The dog would lie down at various distances from the person being treated, depending on the degree of stress that the patient was under.

Add to these the hundreds of millions of ordinary people who dearly love their own family dogs. There's Aunt Martha, whose Christmas card includes a picture of the kids and their Golden Retriever, Honey, all sitting around Uncle Max, who is dressed like Santa Claus. There's also the videotape you received in the mail, presenting Cousin Fred playing the clarinet while his Border Collie, Babe, plaintively wails the vocal parts. All of this is clear evidence for how much we love, care for, and think about our dogs.

DOGS TO LOVE OR NOT

Stories like these make dogs sound like the silver lining on the storm clouds of life. After hearing such tales, it is hard to suppress the desire...