Animal interactions may play a critical role in times of human crisis. And some of these may trigger profound changes in the quality of the human-companion animal bond for better or worse. Currently, we live in an era in which multiple crises play out simultaneously. Conflicting media reports compete for our attention. One group urges us to practice social distancing and stay home while others urge us to go shopping, march to express our views, or go to the beach.
When such potentially life-changing events occur, some of us want to stick with what we know and others prefer novelty. The challenge is not to allow ourselves to become so overwhelmed by our own needs that we forget how our behavior may influence that of our dogs and cats.
Superficially the Portrait of young Man holding a Dog and a Cat by Dosso Dossi (1486-1542) has nothing to do with us and our companion animals in times of crisis. In reality, though,there was no shortage of conflicts in the 15th and 16th centuries and the effects of famine and the plague were still being felt. And yet, Dosso Dossi chose to paint this young man with a dog and cat instead of all that was going wrong. Perhaps even back then, people appreciated the role dogs and cats played in difficult times.
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