Summary

The article contemplates whether a dog or a human can be considered a person's best friend, ultimately suggesting that humans should embody the loyalty and unconditional love of dogs to become true friends to one another.

Abstract

The author reflects on the commonly held belief that a dog is a human's best friend, noting the unwavering loyalty and love that dogs exhibit towards their owners. Through personal anecdotes and references to literature, such as William Wordsworth's poem "Fidelity," the author illustrates the unique bond between humans and dogs. However, the article also emphasizes the importance of human friendships, which can be deep and enduring, embodying qualities like honesty, respect, and support. The author argues that while dogs provide a special kind of companionship, humans have the capacity to form friendships that are equally profound and meaningful. The article suggests that by adopting the positive traits of dogs, such as loyalty and selflessness, humans can strengthen their relationships with each other and create a more harmonious society.

Opinions

Dogs are celebrated for their unconditional love, companionship, and loyalty, often considered man's best friend.
The author challenges the reader to consider the value of human friendship, which can be just as meaningful and profound as the bond with a pet.
Human friendships are described as requiring effort, sacrifice, and the ability to overcome ego, jealousy, and misunderstandings.
The article suggests that humans should aspire to the loyalty and unconditional love that dogs naturally exhibit.
There is a critique of modern society, where genuine friendship is sometimes compromised for short-term gains and convenience.
The author believes that by fostering values like commitment, dedication, friendship, love, and loyalty, humans can become the best friends to one another.
The article calls for a society where humans treat each other with honesty, kindness, and trust, much like the bond between a dog and its owner.

Who is a human’s best friend: a dog or a human?

A simple question

Riya’s affectionate look towards the family members. Family Photo of author.

Who is a human’s best friend: a dog?

I searched the internet. The only answer I could read was ‘dog is a human’s best friend’.

My question is simple but you need to think before giving a proper reply. It’s not very complicated because I am referring to an adult human ‘who is your best friend’?

This question came up to my mind sitting on the tea table in the garden when we had added a Labrador puppy-Riya to our family and Riya was sitting on the grass looking at everyone with loving expressive eyes.

My daughter, owner of Riya instantaneously said dog.

Well, we are referring to the animal as human’s best friend.

What about a human as a best friend to other humans?

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.

The dog makes you feel;

My purpose, my whole life, had been to love you and be with you. What a wonderful feeling!

A dog is unique on earth waiting always for you at the doorstep, makes you feel you are the most important person in the dog’s life.

Dogs are known for their love and faithfulness. The owners are aware of the dog’s loyalty, sense of commitment and protection to the owner. They run seeing the owner expressing their love with slobbery kisses whether the owner likes it or not.

Dog’s loyalty is known to be unparalleled even to a bad owner.

Animal Psychologists believe;

The greatest fear of the dog is losing you when you go out of the door.

They provide their family members with unconditional love, companionship, and loyalty down to their very last breath. We hear a lot of touching stories where the dog sat by the side of the grave waiting for the owner.

A dog is offering pure love and asking nothing in return. This is its finest quality of love.

I recall an event on dog’s loyalty when I was in my early teens and our English teacher was an excellent story reader/teller. His teaching was so powerful; he used to move us with such emotion that every character of the story became memorable.

One day he taught the poem ‘Fidelity’ by William Wordsworth where a dog kept crying by the side of the skeleton of the master. At the end of the poem, we all girls were sobbing.

Here I reproduce few touching lines I still love in “Fidelity”

https://internetpoem.com/william-wordsworth/fidelity-poem/

A barking sound the Shepherd hears A cry as of a dog or fox; He halts — and searches with his eyes Among the scattered rocks:

— — -POEM CONTINUES…

Yes, the proof was plain that, since the day When this ill-fated Traveller died, The Dog had watched about the spot, Or by his master’s side: How nourished here through such a long time

He knows, who gave that love sublime; And gave that strength of feeling, great Above all human estimate!

Dog’s psychology is to offer you its protection by majestically showing to others;

Beware, this is my territory and I am the master

Dogs have also bad behaviour like barking or chasing away other dogs or other animals to claim the territory, not sharing attitude (except at home).

Some humans have sadly absorbed this dog’s bad quality.

Who is your best friend: a human?

Whom will you call your best friend?

This is a million-dollar question….yes!

Friendship sprouts as a toddler and continues all along with life. The childhood laughter and the innocence disappear as we grow but childhood friends are always in our memory and an asset.

Several works of literature are filled with descriptions of the true nature of a friend. An honest, loving, respectful, forgiving, compromising, honest, standing by your side in thick and thin, and the whole list goes on….

Honestly, if you have 1–2 such friends in life, you can consider yourself to be fortunate. Does my statement sound strange? I am sure for some….

Human nature is like a Maxwellian distribution. The amplitude corresponding to the number of humans at the beginning and the end is small, implying very good and very bad people are a small fraction of the entire distribution.

A large fraction of humans is indeed good thinkers and intelligent, and value the virtues of love, loyalty and friendship among themselves.

Building a friendship is easy but maintaining it is difficult….., it’s an enormous effort, a sacrifice…

Many friendships wean and wither over time. True friendship has its lifetime too, can break for one or the other reasons by harbouring ego, jealousy, misunderstanding etc

In many ways, human nature has become like a bargaining system for short term gain. In one of my posts, I had dealt with it.

https://readmedium.com/are-we-bartering-our-priceless-virtues-59aaa03f97bc

Are we bartering our priceless virtues?

Are we bartering our priceless virtues?medium.com

Are we bartering our priceless virtues?

· Many of us care for someone who has cared for us or in anticipation;

· Help someone who has helped us or in anticipation;

· Love someone who has loved us or in anticipation;

· Praise someone who has praised us or in anticipation.

Many of us ignore to see beyond the boundary of convenience set by individuals. We realise erroneous actions around us but still, we continue.

Recently, a student of mine spoke to me at length on the situation challenged by the present generation. She started; present youths are facing an entirely different situation.

With a pause she continued; we are in the rat race and brutally pushed often. Competition is enormously high and many times merit takes back seat and god-fathers are required, Jealousy is in every front. For a healthy mind and a fair society, these evils are growing like cancerous cells.

We cannot expect everyone to be friends but we can live with the least nuisance or least trouble to others. As we expect and want honest people around, let us start building ourselves with the attitude of honesty, kindness, trust etc. and offer a hand of true friendship at least to a few.

Friendship isn’t about whom you’ve known the longest.

It’s about who walked into your life, said

“I’m here for you” and proved it-unknown author

One day we will say;

Dogs love humans and

Human’s most loyal pets are dogs

Riya with siblings at breeder’s centre before becoming part of our family, family photo.

If we adopt the values of commitment, dedication, friendship, love, and loyalty among ourselves then one day we will write

Human’s best friend is Human

Let us stretch an honest hand of friendship

and

ensure building a peaceful society for us and our coming generations

In friendship, Thanks for reading Tara Desai