Posted 30 November 2010 - 12:12 AM
You’ve covered quite a few of the useful things humans need dogs for. There are a few others I would also like to add. I am also a goat farmer, so I keep Komondor dogs out with my goats. They protect my goats from ANYTHING that might bother them. I can sleep well at night knowing nothing is going to bother my goats and live to tell about it. In most parts of the United States, it would be impossible to raise sheep or goats due to coyotes, or even stray dogs. Or neighbors who live in the country and think it’s cool to let their dogs run free.
Did you know that dogs have also been trained to detect cancer? There was a Standard Schnauzer named George that after being retired from military use as a bomb-sniffing dog, was retrained by his owner with the help of a dermatologist to detect melanomas. George was so good that he most likely saved one man’s life. George insisted that a mole on the man’s body was cancer. The mole had been checked by three separate doctors and biopsied twice, the doctors insisted it was not malignant, however, George continued to insist so the mole was removed, and was dissected a microscopic slice at a time until in the very center of the mole, ONE cancer cell was finally discovered! George’s success rate was 99.7%! I seriously doubt there is any high tech expensive laboratory equipment that has that good of an accuracy rate.
There are many other instances of pet dogs with no special training what so ever, that have alerted their owners to various health problems, remember a dog’s sense of smell is something like 220 million times stronger than a human’s. We also have dogs that are trained as seizure alert dogs, for those with epilepsy.
Now, aside from all those useful things you and I have come up with, we still haven’t covered the average everyday pet dog that you see in probably three quarters of all the household in America. Yes, their maintence can be expensive. They do require food and medical care occasionally. Toys and bowl and other equipment all all needed. And yes, left unatended they can be destructive if not properly trained. But the fact of the matter is, they are just good company! Your dog is never going to be unhappy to see you come home. Your dog will always love you no matter how you feel or what kind of a mood you are in or how bad your day has been. They are committed to you and are stead fast in loyality, a trait not that frequently found in our fellow humans. They give us purpose. Did you know that studies have proven that dogs are a benetfit to our health? Elderly dog owners in general live longer than their counterparts that do not have a dog. When you are upset, just sitting and petting a dog can lower your blood pressure. Of course, getting out to walk your dog has the benefits that your dog is not the only one getting exercise. Dog give a lot of their owners a reason to get out of bed in the morning when otherwise they might not have the will power to do so due to illness or even just depression. There are numerous cases of autistic children who never responed to any outside stimuli that actually would respond favorable when exposed to a friendly, cuddly dog. They can give children confidence, and teach them about responsibility.
So, it’s pretty much a no contest when it comes to the benefits of owning a dog as to not having one. Our relationship with our canine friends continues to develop and grow and prosper, even if snow mobiles have replaced dog sleds and high tech gadgets provide home security. (personally, I’ll trust my dog with my personal security before I’d trust technoligy anyway.) Dogs will continue to prove their worth to us without a doubt. Now if only those dummys at TSA would figure this out and get a bunch of dogs working at airports. I’d sure rather be sniffed by a dog than groped by a government employee!!!
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