Dogs are leftover from a time when we needed them, and now they suffer 6

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1. 

   jdhlax Posted 12:27 am
   14 Jan 2006

   Environmental ImpactThe biggest environmental impact dogs have is the same as that of any non-native animal.  Dogs are thought to have been bred by humans out of wolves or coyotes, but they lost their ecological niche millenia ago.  Here in San Francisco, fanatic, rabid dog owners insist on letting their dogs run off leash in natural areas, including in a restored wetland and on Ocean Beach.  This of course results in native animals being harassed and sometimes injured or killed by non-native dogs.  Add to that the unnaturally large amount of excrement and urine that dogs leave in these places and the digging that they do, and you end up with ruined natural areas.
   I fully understand people's love of their pets.  My parents had a 90 pound shepard when I was born, so I grew up with a dog in our home.  However, after being educated to environmental concerns, and having to deal with dog feces and being disturbed by dogs barking late an night, I've concluded that it's time to put our sentiments aside and rid the planet of the vast majority of these unnatural animals.  If the population of dogs were limited to things like guide dogs for the blind, the Earth would be much better off.
   
   Jeff Hoffman

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2. 

   amazingdrx Posted 8:12 pm
   14 Jan 2006

   Slight advantage?Well yes bio-d.
   Imagine a tribe of cave dwellers without dogs.  If the sentry falls asleep, that tribe is vulnerable to attack from a predator or another tribe.
   Imagine the same group with dogs.  Any hint of trouble and the dogs awake, start barking and attack the intruders with gleefull fury.  It's what they do.
   Now imagine a herding tribe, a bit higher on the evolutionary chain...  well you get the picture.
   Without dogs would humans have survived at all?  Doubtfull.
   Have you seen the latest research on mirror neurons?
   http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/10/science/10mirr.html
   My theory is that dogs and humans have developed synchronistic mirror neurons through the ages.  Dogs have ESP?  Yep, that's it.
   
   http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

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3. 

   redboat Posted 2:17 am
   15 Jan 2006

   time to give up our dogsI would have to say that for environmental reasons, it is time for the human race to give up its dogs. I think Edward Abbey in "Desert Solitaire" had more than a few disparaging remarks about dogs.
   I am one of those single dog owners whose dog is home all day. Hey, if single people shouldn't have dogs who should? Most dog behaviorists will tell you that dogs really have no sense of how much time they are at home alone and that their owners (through their own behavior) train them to be ecstatic up on returning home. Some people leave the house for five minutes and their dogs go nuts when they come back in. But, I have to admit that once my 16 year old dog is gone, I will never get another one. A dog does deserve a dog's life.
   I love your comments about the Costa Rican dogs. I have seen these dogs. Like the wonderful people of Costa Rica, their free-roaming dogs are incredibly happy. But as Jeff points out, these "off-leash" dogs have an impact all their own.
   
   eddy out, redboat

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4. 

   Biodiversivist Posted 10:53 am
   15 Jan 2006

   Great comments people.We have all known and loved dogs at some point in our lives.
   
   In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Help acquire and protect ecological hotspots, give to a conservation organization: http://www.saveourbiodiversity.com

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5. 

   blueeyes Posted 8:19 am
   17 Jan 2006

   dogs..."Essentially, these dogs have become feel-good drugs, and in some cases can even act as effective antidepressants. But, is that a good use for a dog?"
   Ummm...YES! apparently since another post says depression and mental disorders are up along with the increase in industrialized food.... but I digress.
   I don't think you are giving enough credit to what dogs help us with...besides seeing eye dogs, bomb sniffing dogs, etc.  the new story is dogs sniffing cancer... found here http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/01/0112_060112_dog_cancer.html
   As for the environmental impact?  come on, what about us! Compared to us, dogs' impacts are slight.  
   And I think something should be said for the "animal connection" or "connection to nature" that living with animals instills...it makes us less egocentric.   Besides, they make us get out and walk and exercise...something this country badly needs.
   
   

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6. 

   amazingdrx Posted 8:41 pm
   17 Jan 2006

   Dogs diagnose?http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/17/health/17dog.html?incamp=article_popular
   The health benefits of the canine/human partnership may include diagmosis of disease as well as the widely aknowledged stress reduction.
   
   http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

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