I was reading a book which probes into the mind of a dog--how they think and thus a logical explanation as to why they do every single thing that they do, some actions more oft than not a peculiar sight for our curious mind. And an interesting food for thought that was raised was how we, as humans, have become attuned to anthropomorphisms. It has long been a natural instinct for humans to regard themselves as beings superior to other (emphasis on the word other because we are as human as we are rightfully animals by classification as well) creatures of the world and perhaps, we are not wrong in undertaking such a pompous attitude. It is incontrovertible that humans are intellectually superior to the beasts that roam our (again a sign of our assertive dominance) soil and that in itself counts for everything (what money cannot buy, intelligence will earn). Yet, the pinnacle of foolery is in our natural and inherent and almost inevitable inclination to associating what other animals do with humanoid behavior. It is simple to say that a dog is happy or sad based on basic observation skills, but of which, most of our deductions are based on how we perceive emotions from the point of view of a human. A smile is of course a representation of elation and joy or just simple satisfaction but a replica of that on the features of a dolphin may not necessarily imply the same level of jubilation or exhilaration since dolphins naturally smile. It is also posited that a chimpanzee's grin is a sign of aggression or stress, much unlike our typical association with glee.

Enough small talk about animals. My point here being that humans have the proclivity for enforcing our own standards onto others, and this is most apparent and stark in our treatment and (attempts at) understanding other animals, even dogs, who we have claimed to be "man's best friend" (under what solid grounds exactly, that remains to be seen). We like to think of others (and the discussion now being inclusive of other homo sapiens) the way we think of ourselves. We first perceive others (either in a good way or bad way) solely based on how we want them to be. When somebody does something irksome and it leaves a dull first impression on you, you inevitably keep a lookout for his/her other bad habits or perks that discredits his/her character even further. We like to believe that our initial judgement of someone was and is right, and this forces us into shaping people the way we want them to, rather than who they actually are. Rather than admitting that your dog may not necessarily be happy just because his jaw resembles what we call a smile, we rather believe that our dog is more than satisfied with the way it is being treated and that it loves you. Dogs lick their owners not completely (and perhaps not always) as a sign of affection; at times, it is to gain a better grasp of what you have just eaten or come into contact with. Researchers of wild canids--wolves, coyotes, foxes, and other wild dogs--report that puppies lick the face and muzzle of their mother when she returns from a hunt to her den--in order to get her to regurgitate for them. But of course the latter two alternatives have to take a backseat (they might as well be relegated off the charts anyway) since we would no doubt prefer these licks to be forms of "kisses" rather than a beckon for vomit.

Point is, there's always more than meets the eye but that cliched, we already know. What's wrong is that we blatantly choose to ignore it. We know that there's more behind the smoked screen, but we refuse to peer deeper. Ironically, we are the ones responsible for detonating that smoke grenade and creating this haze to create this ideal facade. But really, we are only misguiding one person and one person alone--ourselves.

It's time to stop domesticating others--physically or mentally.