Dogs are the Heroes

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/10/22/for-kathleen-parker-a-good-dog-day-in-dc/

Opinion: Dogs are the true heroes of the pandemic 

Opinion by Kathleen Parker

What is clear is that animals often fill a void that transcends service, entertainment or companionship and that is deeply connected to our need to love and be loved. When Asheville, a mixed breed, died several years ago, a friend said, “I know you must miss her so much because you loved her so much.” And I said, “No, I miss her because she loved me so much.”

Ollie, who died on Christmas Eve 2019, was 100 percent dependent on me. I was his service animal, his seeing-eye human. He had spent so much of his life confidently perched on my right forearm that when he died at 18, I felt his absence like a missing limb. I once ran looking for him while he was on my arm.

My devotion to Ollie doubtless filled an empty space in my heart, possibly the need to nurture after my son was grown. There’s not much mystery there, but a goldfish would have been a lot easier. It seems, therefore, that we humans reap benefits from tending to others, especially the weak and defenseless. Dogs have served human beings in various capacities for millennia, but they’ve also trained us to serve them. In this way, they’ve deepened our humanity by expanding our capacity for empathy.

And for that, we owe them their lives.