And.......... Death.

     This week's readings truly explored the relationship between people and animals. From threats, to excuses to demonstrate literature skills, to representatives of human emotions, to finally dear companions, dogs have a very unique relationship with humans. Each article I read provided a deeper understanding to our modern views on dogs and how they came to be. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of our ever evolving opinion of these animals is the concept of souls introduced in Ingrid H. Tague's Dead Pets: Satire and Sentiment in British Elegies and Epitaphs for Animals. The debate of whether dogs have souls or not, and if they would be involved in a sort of after-life as many humans believe in, continues to this day and includes many different perspectives.

    The first thing I wish to address is the different concepts of death and what happens after from the human perspective. There's the idea that nothing occurs after death; this includes the idea that we're simply wiped from existence (with the exception of people/history remembering us), the belief that we 'return' to the Earth, and the view that we 'live on' through others. Then there's the idea of an afterlife. There are so many variations of this, ranging from Heaven and Hell, the Underworld, and even Reincarnation. Basically, there's as many ideas about death as there are stars in the universe. Even within groups and churches, many people have their own personal beliefs about what they think things will be like after they die.

    Just as there are many opinions about death, there are countless points of view about what happens to dogs when they die. Many of these thoughts are similar to our own, and yet they also differ greatly. Some people believe that dogs have souls just like us. That they, too, will return to the Earth or will go to Heaven. Others believe in one thing but do not believe that dogs have a similar death experience. And still, others don't think dogs even have souls to debate over. The point being that we can't really say what the overall opinion of the sate of dogs' souls are as there are simply too many perspectives for people to agree on one belief. However, we can examine how our interactions with dogs relate to our beliefs in their souls.

    This is a very specific topic, how our relationship with dogs connect to our beliefs on what will occur once they die. However, it's very interesting to think about. And it's something that we have to be specific with. I intentionally didn't use the word impact. Yes, how we interact with animals may change the way we view them and their future, but I'm focusing on the connection itself. If there is even a connection. To do this, I'm going to use a personal example. I do this because, again, there are so many perspectives that it's simply impossible to generalize this concept. Using one circumstance will provide a basic understanding to this connection that will allow us to view other situations and find similar ideas.

    My family are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Our church believes that animals are part of our concept of Heaven. My family believes in this, but what's fascinating is how this connects to our interactions with animals. We haven't had our own dog, but we have had several other animals and my grandfather, who lived nearby and we often visited, did own a dog at one point. This dog, Jasmine, had different relationships with each member of my family. For my grandpa and my younger brother Josh, Jasmine was simply a dog to take care of. They would give her a good scratch every now and then, but besides that she was treated as a tamed animal. My mom, older brother Isaac, and sister Katherine were all a bit allergic to dogs so they kept their distance. They didn't really interact with Jasmin often, but I did catch glimpses of them enjoying her company every now and then. These three treated her as a connection to nature, an animal that brought peace and relaxation. 

    My dad loved Jasmine and treated her as a pet. He wasn't super attached to her, but he loved petting and talking to her and would occasionally play with her. I, on the other hand, despised being separated from her. Jasmine was my best friend, I would spend almost every minute at my grandpa's house and I would do everything from reading to eating with her. She was my family and I was devastated when she died. Clearly, each member of my family had a different type of relationship with Jasmine. But we all still believe that she is waiting for us up in Heaven. So what's the connection?

    We have a distinct belief set by a leadership figure and a unique variety of relationships with a certain animal, so (again) we can't really say that the belief depends on the relationship. But there has to be a connection right? Well, even though this is a personal example I honestly don't know. I treated Jasmine as I did because that's how our relationship developed and that's how I felt in my heart. What about my family? Did my grandpa and brother tolerate this dog because they believed she would go to Heaven? I don't know. It's possible, but I like to think that they didn't want to hurt an animal that clearly meant so much to me. So some of my family's attitudes towards Jasmine could have been for my sake rather than the dogs'. Again, the point I'm trying to make isn't that there's a single connection between the concept of a dog's soul and our interaction with them but rather that there's a whole range of ideas and perspectives.

    Overall, the ideas presented in this week's readings gave me a lot to think about. I only really talked about a small sliver of what was discussed. I could go on and on about the why we connect with animals and the benefits of an animal companion. I could talk about the historical addresses of dogs' deaths and how the general acceptance of different perspectives changed over time. Simply put, there's a lot to think about but only so much I can write about in one blogpost. So until the next time I can write about these concepts, I'll just keep thinking on them.

The animal interaction relates to the perspective of the dogs' sou