Tag: Human

Man is very, very close to Dolphin

Dolphin DNA very close to Human DNA

I had real trouble in writing yesterday’s Post about the appalling slaughter of the dolphins in Japan. Perhaps there was something out there in the ether that recognised the pain that I was sharing with so many thousands of other dolphin lovers.

Because while I was writing the article, into my in-box came something from Save Japan Dolphins about how close dolphins are to mankind, in DNA terms.

The article opened thus:

Seema Kumar, of Discovery Channel Online, writes that scientists have discovered that the genetic make-up of dolphins is amazingly similar to humans. They’re closer to us than cows, horses, or pigs, despite the fact that they live in the water.

David Busbee of Texas A&M University is then quoted as saying:

Busbee says, “If we can show that humans are similar to dolphins, and anything that endangers dolphins is an equal concern for humans, it may be easier to persuade governments to keep oceans clean.”

And make it easier for all honest and loving people to join the fight to stop that most dastardly murdering of dolphins in Taiji, Japan.

If you do nothing else, at least sign up to receiving the latest news from Save Japan Dolphins – which is how this Post was conceived.

 

Kissing not killing, please.

 

By Paul Handover

The power of now!

The lesson from dogs is so obvious but, in a sense, so out of reach to us.

The story published yesterday about the Japanese Akita dog, Hachikō, reverberated around my mind for some days afterwards. (It was written on the 27th.)

It wasn’t only about the incredible loyalty shown by the dog towards its master – refusing to accept that its master was never coming home, year after year.  To be honest, humans also show great loyalty to their families and dear friends.

No, there was something else that I couldn’t put my finger on until this morning.  It was a dog’s ability to make the best of every moment, to fully experience what is happening now.  It’s not the first time I have reflected on this aspect of the dog.

We humans have a similar capability but our intellect, our capacity to reflect on the past and ponder (worry?) about the future frequently means that the value of the moment, the preciousness of now, is lost.  I could go on about this – perhaps in another Post.

But I was reminded of when I published a short piece over a year ago, from an unknown author, that was a wonderful attempt to let us humans see into the mind of a dog.  Here it is again.

A love song

Pharaoh

I am your dog and have something I would love to whisper in your ear. I know that you humans lead very busy lives. Some have to work, some have children to raise, some have to do this alone. It always seems like you are running here and there, often too fast, never noticing the truly grand things in life.

Look down at me now. While you sit at your computer. See the way my dark, brown eyes look at yours.

You smile at me. I see love in your eyes. What do you see in mine? Do you see a spirit? A soul inside who loves you as no other could in the world? A spirit that would forgive all trespasses of prior wrong doing for just a single moment of your time? That is all I ask. To slow down, if even for a few minutes, to be with me.

So many times you are saddened by others of my kind passing on. Sometimes we die young and oh so quickly, so suddenly that it wrenches your heart out of your throat. Sometimes, we age slowly before your eyes that you may not even seem to know until the very end, when we look at you with grizzled muzzles and cataract-clouded eyes. Still the love is always there even when we must take that last, long sleep dreaming of running free in a distant, open land.

I may not be here tomorrow. I may not be here next week. Someday you will shed the water from your eyes, that humans have when grief fills their souls, and you will mourn the loss of just ‘one more day’ with me. Because I love you so, this future sorrow even now touches my spirit and grieves me. I read you in so many ways that you cannot even start to contemplate.

We have now together. So come and sit next to me here on the floor and look deep into my eyes. What do you see? Do you see how if you look deeply at me we can talk, you and I, heart to heart. Come not to me as my owner but as a living soul. Stroke my fur and let us look deep into the other’s eyes and talk with our hearts.

I may tell you something about the fun of working the scents in the woods where you and I go. Or I may tell you something profound about myself or how we dogs see life in general. I know you decided to have me in your life because you wanted a soul to share things with. I know how much you have cared for me and always stood up for me even when others have been against me. I know how hard you have worked to help me be the teacher dog that I was born to be. That gift from you has been very precious to me. I know too that you have been through troubled times and I have been there to guard you, to protect you and to be there always for you. I am very different to you but here I am. I am a dog but just as alive as you.

I feel emotion. I feel physical senses. I can revel in the differences of our spirits and souls. I do not think of you as a dog on two feet; I know what you are. You are human, in all your quirkiness, and I love you still.

So, come and sit with me. Enter my world and let time slow down if only for a few minutes. Look deep into my eyes and whisper in my ears. Speak with your heart and I will know your true self. We may not have tomorrow but we do have now.

We may not have tomorrow, but we do have now!  Cherish the moment.

By Paul Handover