Dogs Are People, Too

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Gregory Berns, writing for The New York Times:

FOR the past two years, my colleagues and I have been training dogs to go in an M.R.I. scanner — completely awake and unrestrained. Our goal has been to determine how dogs’ brains work and, even more important, what they think of us humans.

Now, after training and scanning a dozen dogs, my one inescapable conclusion is this: dogs are people, too.

Berns goes on to detail how his findings might shape society’s view on pets in terms of property rights. My wife and I have a young dog, Riley, who has a personality that rivals any person. It has never crossed my mind to think of her as property. She’s simply just one of the family.