Man's Best Friend By Design! - My Satisfied Dog

Did you know your furry best friend was created with just the right traits to be your companion?

Among all the animals created on this earth, dogs were the ones awarded the title of “Man’s Best Friend”. Because of their uniqueness and diversity to the many character traits like loyalty, bravery, obedience, and gentleness dogs have consistently been wonderful companions to mankind.

Tom Hennigan, in his article “Suite Dogs” talks about the rapid diversity among dog breeds seen in recent history. Each breed has its own set of characteristics, traits, and benefits for their human companions.

In the past 500 years, humans have developed nearly 500 breeds of dogs, each with its own unique suite of traits—both physical and behavioral—to benefit humans. Modern genetic studies show that the breeds draw their traits from four broad categories (wolflike, herders, hunters, and guards). Yet each breed has its own unique mix of DNA.

For a subspecies to acquire this vast genetic variation over such a short time is surprising to evolutionary researchers. They cannot explain so many well-blended traits by slow changes. These suites indicate that dog DNA was designed to produce this variation quickly under breeding conditions. Clearly the Creator knew mankind would need a “best friend (or friends).”

– Tom Hennigan is associate professor of biology at Truett-McConnell College.

dog-breed-chart-large — Heidi G. Parker et al., Science 304:1160; photos: Eric IsselTe; cynoclub; GlobalP | Thinkstockphotos.com

And They Just Keep Getting Better

I’m sure as pet owners you would agree that dogs are very responsive to their human friends. They listen when you talk, respond to vocal commands and gesture cues. They learn your routine and remind you when you forget something.

As a dog owner, do you believe that your dog can read your mind? There has been some speculation about whether dogs can smell fear and sense your moods and really respond to them.

Answers Magazine an article titled “Our BFF Just Keeps Getting Better” puts this topic in a new light.

“Your dog can read your mind. Well, not literally, but two recent studies confirm the close emotional links dogs have with humans. The first showed that dogs can smell fear. That’s a common assertion, but the study proved that when dogs smell sweat from a human who is afraid, they seek reassurance from their owners and are less open to strangers. When they smell sweat from a happy human, they exhibit happiness themselves.
The second study showed that dogs’ faces are more expressive when humans are looking at them. This sensitivity to human emotion and attention points to a Creator who knew how domesticated dogs would benefit humanity.” (32)

So, the next time you look at those big brown puppy eyes, remember how that dog was specially designed to benefit you.

“It seems reasonable to conclude that God placed this genetic variety into animals so that when humans revealed it visibly, they would see reminders of His invisible glory. Even through hairless terriers in the twenty-first century.”