The Eyes Of An Animal Have The Power To Speak A Unique Language

When I look at the eyes of my dog, cat or any other animal, I don’t see an “animal”.

I see a living being like me, a friend, a soul who feels, who knows affection and fears, and who deserves the same respect as any person.

The power of a gaze transcends much more than the meaning of sight. As astonishing as it may sound, our optic nerves are intimately linked to the hypothalamus, that delicate and primitive structure where our emotions and memory are located.

Who looks feels, and this is something animals experience as well.

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

We have all experienced the following once: adopting a dog or a cat, and immediately making a very intense connection with one in particular by looking it in the eye.

Without knowing how, they captivate us and catch us. But scientists say there is something deeper and more interesting about all of this.

We invite you to discover this with us. 

Animal eyes, a very old connection

Two of the animals that have been used for thousands of years to live alongside humans are the cat and the dog.

No one is surprised at how wise they are, and sometimes without shyness when interacting with us.

They stare at us fixedly in the eyes and are able to express desires and needs through all types of loves, gestures, tail movements and various complicity.

We have harmonized behaviors and languages ​​until we understand each other and this is not due to chance.

Rather, it is the result of a genetic evolution where species have become accustomed to cohabiting together, to bring each other benefits.

It’s also not surprising to see the findings of the study conducted by anthropologist Evan MacLean: Dogs and cats are able to read our own emotions only by looking us in the eye.

Our pets are wise masters of feelings. They can identify basic gesture patterns and associate them with a particular emotion, and they almost never fail.

However, this study tells us something more: We often bond with our dogs and cats that is very similar to the bond we build with a small child. 

We educate them, we listen to them and we establish a very strong bond, as if they are a member of the family.

It may sound crazy, but our biological mechanisms have come closer after so many years of mutual interaction.

Our neural networks and brain chemistry react the same way as if we were caring for a child or someone in need of attention: we release oxytocin, the hormone of tenderness. and care.

Likewise, they act the same: we are their social group, their herd, these complacent humans with whom they share the couch.

Biophilia, the connection to nature and animals

The world is much prettier when seen through the eyes of an animal. If everyone had the exceptional ability to connect with them, we would “remember” things that before were innate and which today we have forgotten because of civilization.

Our societies are hooked on consumption, on the over-exploitation of resources to hurt Gaia , this planet Earth that our grandchildren should receive with all the beauty of yesteryear, its intact ecosystems, its magnificent nature, alive and shining, and not with so many broken bones that you can’t heal anymore.

When having a dog was used to better survive as a species

Edward Osborne Wilson is an American entomologist and biologist best known for coining the term “biophilia”.

This word defines this love for all living things and that live, in general, all people who love animals.

According to this scientist, the affinities that we establish with our animals originate in the first periods of the evolution of our species.

• When we look an animal in the eye, an emotional and genetic anchor pervades us in an unconscious way.
  Humans have made a very intimate kind of bond with certain types of animals, and the dog has been one of the most important in those distant times when survival was the top priority.

• One of Edward Osborne’s theories is that these humans, who had multiple dogs in their groups, were more likely to continue living, compared to those who did not have this connection.

People who were able to gain the trust of an animal, domesticate it, and build a relationship of affection and mutual respect, were much more united with nature, its cycles and its secrets.

This made it easier for them to find the resources they needed: water, hunting, edible plants, etc.

Our dogs may not be as helpful in helping us find food today.

But, for many people, the closeness and companionship of a dog or cat is still essential to “survive”.

They cover us with tenderness, immense doses of companionship, they ease our sorrows, they give us joy and remind us why it is so comforting to look them in the eye.

They don’t need words, because their language is very old, very basic and wonderfully primitive: it is love. 

Never stop enjoying their looks, reflect in them every day and you will discover all the good that is in you.