If we want to understand why we do the things we do it’s good to learn as much as possible in any area of biology.
Today, I saw an episode of a public television program called “Dogs in the Wild, a Nature Miniseries”.
The series goes around the world teaching us about different species of dogs. There is an African-painted dog. There are conservationists that treat the dogs when they get injured on ranches from shootings etc. They found that taking the dog by themselves, treating them, and then releasing them did not work as the dogs often died within 10 days. Upon autopsy, they found that low and behold the dogs died of broken heart syndrome.
This syndrome only recently has been discovered in humans, maybe 15 years ago.
I write this not only to specifically pointed this out but also to speak a little bit about emotion in animals.
As far as the general public goes it is a new thing to recognize emotion in animals. 20 years ago, I was amazed that even animal researchers resisted accepting animal emotions. We have come a long way since then but I am continually fascinated that it’s taken this long especially speaking of dogs since they’ve been around us for about 15,000 years.
I have to mention that there is one person that brought our attention to emotion and animals: Charles Darwin in the mid-19th century. He wrote not only the “Origins of Species” but A work called “The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals.”
Broken heart syndrome in humans happens usually to women over 50 if they have suffered a sudden emotional shock.
It is initially treated as a heart attack until things become clear. Humans usually recover with supportive treatment.
The dogs do not recover so well and many of them die unless. So, what was the solution to save these dogs? It was to take their dog family with them while they healed. So far, they have had great success with the program.
In 2023 no one should doubt that dogs and all mammals have an emotional system very much akin to humans. And that in order to maintain that emotional system, in a healthy state, we need community.