In the past ten years, there’s been an increase in the numbers and sources of street dogs being adopted by Americans as pets. In a moment of fancy, I found myself thinking about what might go through these dogs’ minds relative to the human species when they make this transition. I imagined myself a young street dog living by my wits in a culture that avoids or seeks to harm me because I could carry rabies or other micro-organisms (now including bird flu) that might harm them or their children. If these people address me at all, it’s in a manner that makes it quite clear they didn’t want me around.
One day I get whisked off the streets and, after a series of events that make no sense to me at all, I wind up in a place where they speak an entirely different language. Not only that, the tone and body language that accompanies their vocalizations is also completely different. Whereas those in my native land communicated dominance with an occasional bit of fear tossed in, these folks babytalk, higher-pitched tone, plus their willingness to react to me signal they want me to take care of them
Talk about culture shock!
I think about these new people the only way I can: relative to the ones I grew up with. When I do that, there can only be one conclusion: the new humans must belong to a different variety than the old ones. What else could explain their different vocalizations, hunting and foraging, mating, reproductive, and play displays?
After I’ve been away from my primitive roots long enough and learn my new humans’ jargon, I finally figure it out. Like us dogs, these humans simply belong to different breeds.