An Animal’s Eyes Have The Power To Speak A Unique Language

When I look at the eyes of my dog, my cat or another animal, I do not see an “animal”.  I see a living creature like myself, a friend, a soul who feels, who knows about love and fear, and who deserves the same respect as any person.

The power of a glance goes far beyond the sense of sight. As amazing as it may seem, our optic nerves are closely linked to the hypothalamus, the delicate and primitive structure in which our emotions and our memory are located. The one who sees feels, and this is something animals also experience.

If the eyes are the window to the soul, something tells me that animals have one too, because only they know how to speak the language that does not need words: it is the language of love and the most sincere respect.

We have all experienced the following at some point: When we go to adopt a dog or a cat, a very intense connection is suddenly created with one of them, just by seeing them in the eye. Without knowing how, they catch us. However, researchers tell us that there is something more profound and interesting than all this.

Animal eyes, a very old compound

Two of the animals that have been used to living with humans for thousands of years are cats and dogs. No one is surprised anymore by the wise way they interact with us. They look us straight in the eye, and they are able to express needs and desires through any kind of caress, gesture, movement of the tail and different glances.

We have synthesized our behavior and our language until we understand each other. It is much more a result of genetic evolution where some species have become accustomed to living together for the mutual benefit of each other. What does not surprise us either is what was revealed to us by an interesting study conducted by anthropologist Evan MacLean: dogs and cats are quite good at reading our emotions simply by looking us in the eye.

Our pets are wise masters of emotions. They can identify basic gesture patterns to associate them with a given emotion, and they almost never fail at this. Nevertheless, this study explains something more to us: people tend to establish a connection with their cats and dogs that is very similar to the one we build with a small child.

We raise them, take care of them, and establish a bond that is as strong as if they were another family member, which, as incredible as it may seem, has been beneficial to our biological mechanisms after so many years of mutual interaction.

Our neural networks and brain chemistry react in the same way as if we were caring for a child or a person who needs our attention: we release oxytocin, the hormone of love and care. At the same time, they behave in the same way: we are their social group, their flock, the satisfied people with whom they can share the sofa and the cat’s nine lives.

Biophilia, the connection to nature and animals

The world is much more beautiful when seen through the eyes of an animal. If we all had the exceptional ability to connect ourselves with it in this way, we would “remember” aspects that used to be innate to us, and which we have now forgotten because of the city’s life and civilization.

Our societies are strongly tied to consumerism, to over-exploitation of resources, and thus to harming this planet, to harming the Earth. We should pass on this world to our grandchildren with the same beauty as when we inherited it, with its ecosystems intact, with its nature as beautiful, vibrant and sparkling, and not with so many cracks that cannot be fixed.

When having a dog meant surviving better as a species

Edward Osborne Wilson is an American biologist and entomologist who is known for inventing the term “biophilia”.  This word defines that love for all that lives and what most of us,  in general,  who love animals, experience. According to this researcher, the affinity hat we create with pets finds its origins in the early stages of the evolution of our species.

• When we look into the eyes of an animal, an emotional and genetic bond rises within us without us being aware of it. Man established a very intimate form of connection with certain types of animals, such as the dog, which was one of the most relevant in the distant times when the highest priority was survival.
• One of Edward Osborne’s theories is that the people who could count on the company of different dogs  in their social groups had a better chance of staying alive compared to those who still did not have this connection.

The people who were able to get hold of an animal, tame it and build a relationship of love and mutual respect with it, were much more strongly connected to nature, to the cycles, to the secrets with which they could find more resources, which would help them to keep moving forward in life: water, play, edible plants…

Maybe our dogs are no longer as useful today when it comes to getting food, but still, for many people, the closeness and companion they have with a dog or a cat is still absolutely necessary for “survival”.

They give us affection, with large doses of camaraderie, they relieve pain, they bring us joy, and they remind us every day why it is so comforting to look them in the eye. They do not need words, because their language is much older, more basic, and even wonderfully primitive: love.

Do not stop enjoying their appearance; Look at your reflection in them every day and you will discover all the wonderful things that lie within you.