I agree, with flowingwater, their loyalty and love are good for us, and it enriches our life. It's also good for us to care for them, in that we have to concentrate on something outside of ourselves that needs our care. For example, I get to appreciate nature and get exercise when I walk them daily. I probably wouldn't get outside in the bad weather some days if it wasn't for the dogs, but because of them I have to. And then I am usually glad I got out walking. They also amuse us. I know ours do some quite funny things at times, that have us laughing out loud. And laughter is good for us as well.

Their love is totally unconditional. It doesn't matter what kind of mood you're in, your pet will always love you unconditionally. They don't have the mentality - I'm going to love you because "you fulfil me ; you give me materialistically what I want" they are always happy to see you because they are living here and 'Now' and provided we don't break that bond by abusing them in some way they are 'Always' willing to share their love.

I love dogs! We have six, four (Cavalier King Charles Spaniels) who live inside our warehouse home and two (German Shepherd and a ShepWeiler) who live in the warehouse itself. I use the personal pronoun "who" instead of "that" because I recognize them as individual souls, not things.

Our Cavaliers at Home Depot

Two of the Cavaliers are Medical Alert dogs (middle two) that can warn my wife of impending episodes of Ménière's Syndrome http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9ni%C3%A8re's_disease that might otherwise manifest. They know, before she does, that an attack is possible, she sits down and holds them and the problems do not manifest. Perhaps she is cured, but this has been a real problem in the past. Hope it stays there.

Since they are certified service dogs, they go anywhere the public can go. Restaurants, hospitals, airplanes (they walk on board with us), Museums, hotels. Falling into the category of seeing eye dogs they are not considered "pets" legally and it can be a Federal crime to not allow them entrance under the ADA Disability Act.

The point is that they can go anywhere with us, and they do. When I had a knee replacement, they stayed in the hospital bed with me. The nurses, doctors and even other patients came by to pet them.

Just petting one takes away tension, stress.

We are constantly being approached by people wanting to pet them. The dogs love it and so do the people. Why? There is an energy exchange. The petting lasts for a minute or more, then the person seems to have had enough, thanks us and walks away.

For tens of thousands of years, man has had a relationship with dogs. A symbiotic bonding. Early on, wolves (from which dogs are descended) hung around prehistoric man's campfires. Cadging food and acting as an early warning system.

The wolf cubs who adapted to human companionship were nurtured, those that were aggressive toward food, people or especially children, were killed or ostracized. Domesticated dogs helped man hunt and protected them from other animals and people.

Today that bonding has deepened to the point that dogs can actually sense arising problems in people and be trained to warn them, as when a diabetic needs insulin. A deep bonding that has developed over millenia.

Scientists tell us that when we pet, *or even look at a dog, our levels of oxytocin (the "feel good" or "candlelight, roses and wine" hormone are increased. Why?* http://www.theotherendoftheleash.com/oxytocin-increases-when-your-dog-looks-at-you

I submit that an energy transfer, a symbiotic mutual transfer takes place. The dog likes it and so do most people. Some people get their goodies elsewhere. Different vibrations for different folks.

Candace Pert has work showing our bodies can manufacture almost any drug, but what triggers this? Why do we manufacture Oxytocin when we just look at a dog? Or a particular person?

What triggers love? Why do we love pets? Can be explained that they give unconditional love. Do they? Or is it part of pack behavior? Is it that they have an instinctual understanding of how we feel? Is it because they wag their tails and not their mouths?

I am an admitted "feel good junkie" knowing this helps me bond with Source makes it even more appealing. Though my intellectual mind is quite active, my feeling mind is achieving a more dominant role.

The "why questions" are still with me, just knowing something makes me feel good is often enough. Maybe, I just need to take a more phenomenological approach.

or just when I get to the point I can say God's Name with Love, the ego taps me on the back and says,"Pretty good!"

According to the Bible, God saw that it was not good for man to be alone, so He made animals as companions for Adam and had Adam name them. When God saw that the animal companion was lacking, then He made Eve as a companion for Adam. This tells us that 1. We need companionship 2. Human companionship is superior to animal companionship and different as well for procreation. Obviously most animals are wild and not companions, but over the years, people have domesticated the ones that make the best companions. I guess we pick which type of animal we prefer for pets based on our vibration, which one resonates with us, or raises our vibration.