Animal Intelligence and Emotions

It's morning and I just rolled out of bed but that doesn't change the fact that each day begins with a race. Milo, my cat, awaits at the top of the stairs for me so we can have a foot race to the bottom. I do give it my all and try to win; however, Milo is very fast and is so determined to remain undefeated. He also cheats by cutting me off at the bottom of the stairs. After the race I follow him into the kitchen watching his tail standing straight up in the air flicking with pride due to his dominance in the stairs race. Once in the kitchen, I dutifully feed him breakfast. I wonder if he's trained me into thinking it's a race when really it's a ploy for me to feed him? This question I'll have to reflect on but this story adds validity to my opinion that animals are very intelligent and are very emotionally available. Animals have been classed into an unthinking and unfeeling simply physical being which doesn't have merit in my opinion because of my personal experience and in researching this subject, I've found supporting thoughts and experiences to help prove that intelligence and emotions exist in animals.

From the time I was a one year old to when I was 13 years old I had a bloodhound, her name was Terra. I use the saying, "we had" loosely because the truth is, she had us. Terra was always the smartest person in the room. I could write this whole paper about her but only using one source would land me a "D" I believe so I'll tell you a few stories about her. One day Terra got into trouble because she wanted to play with the neighbors dogs and devised a plan to tear a section of the fence apart that separated our two yards. After she successfully made it through the fence, she spent the afternoon playing with...

... middle of paper ...

...others regarding evidence of intelligence and emotions in animals. When Dr. Bekhoff was writing his book entitled, The Smile of a Dolphin which tells of peoples personal experiences proving anecdotally that animals display intellectual and emotional capabilities, he had to turn people away because he had too many stories. The stories came from laymen to scientist to professionals from all fields. Animals are so much more then simply physical beings, they are rich with intelligence and rich with emotions. I, on the other hand, need to devise a plan to regain control of the middle of the bed and the covers. Milo, my cat, sleeps with me each night and wiggles his way into the most comfortable and warmest position in bed, right smack in the middle. A great nights sleep might also add to his athletic ability which helps him win all the stair races.