The Soul of Unconditional Love-The Human-Animal Bond

Silver Sands Veterinary Center

 "The Soul of Unconditional Love"

The Human-Animal Bond 

The Human-Animal Bond must be experienced!  The unconditional love of a child for his dog or cat cannot be explained in words.  The love the animal brings to the child brings comfort to a world that is full of problems.  The child can see in the dog happiness, friendship, loyalty, and most importantly that special constant gift of love.  The Human-Animal Bond or the Soul of Unconditional Love is the  spiritual and non-material component of a human allied with animal, in a special time shared as one.  This is not a religious bond; this is not a bond of philosophical linkage; this is a real and strong sharing of time and space as one entity.

The AVMA in 1998 states the following:

Human-Animal Bond: The human-animal bond is a mutually beneficial and dynamic relationship between people and other animals that is influenced by behaviors that are essential to the health and well being of both. This includes, but is not limited to, emotional, psychological, and physical interactions of people, other animals, and the environment. The veterinarian's role in the human-animal bond is to maximize the potentials of this relationship between people and other animals. AVMA, published in June 1, 1998, edition of JAVMA

In 2013, The Soul of Unconditional Love relationship of man to animal, The Human-Animal Bond, is much more than words will ever state.  It is a dog helping a handicapped person; a returning veteran with PTSD finding a new friend; a child being assisted with a reading problem; a person being helped in early seizure detection by an animal;or an animal providing physical  assistance to the deaf, the blind, or individuals with other impairments.  Therapy dogs are, also, used to help children with emotional distress.  This spiritual and non-material bond is high energy and filled with  passion.  It sustains itself and does not have to be fueled with expensive electronic toys or super phones.  List the components of your life that make you happy that are not material linked.  We can start with your love for a child; or a parent; or a partner, spouse, or lover.  Continue that list and try to create non-material items that your truly are passionate about.  The list quickly gets shorter in non-material and longer in material items.

In an earlier blog I re-created my mentor's Love Quiz into a Pet Love Quiz.  Today, I bring you Dr. Leo Buscaglia's original Love Quiz to see how it relates to the Soul of Unconditional Love in man's relationship to animal.

Love Quiz-Dr. Leo Buscaglia:

Asking yourself questions and answering them honestly is a good path to self-knowledge. In keeping with this idea, I'd like to propose a few end-of-the-day questions for each of us . . .

· Is anyone a little happier because I came along today? 

· Did I leave any concrete evidence of my kindness, any sign of my love?

· Did I try to think of someone I know in a more positive light? 

· Did I help someone to feel joy, to laugh, or at least, to smile? 

· Have I attempted to remove a little of the rust that is corroding my relationships? 

· Have I forgiven others for being less than perfect? 

· Have I forgiven myself? 

· Have I learned something new about life, living or love?

. Have I gone through the day without fretting over what I don't have & celebrating the things I do have?

If you are not satisfied with your answers, take heart! Tomorrow you get to start all over again! If you will it, this is one quiz you can never fail.

Mother Teresa wrote: "If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."

In the Soul of Unconditional Love, The Human-Animal Bond, there is always peace.  A child always has a friend that will listen to them.  We are never chastised for giving our opinion.  Our companion is with us in good times; bad times; and times of great sorrow and in times of celebration.  That bring peace.  I truly believe that if our politicians, leaders, corporations, and the rich and powerful understood the significance of the Human-Animal Bond we would live in a different world.  If they could sit back and watch a child pray with their dog, this would be a better world.  If people put away me, myself, and I and replace it with unconditional love, the mass killings of the innocents would stop.  If unconditional love replaced hate and people spending hours of wasted time in tactics of destruction, the world would find great peace.

I invite you tonight to study the Soul of Unconditional Love, the Human-Animal Bond, and cherish its components; incorporate them into your own personal Love Quiz.  Share this love  with others!

The love in this picture is very special and is unconditional; the interaction of a baby of this age and a pup is not recommended by Dr. DeForge!

Dr. Don DeForge is Animal Doc AM

http://www.AnimalDocAMMultiMedia.blogspot.com

Questions or Comments E-Mail DonDeForge@aol.com

Silver Sands Veterinary Center

17 Seemans Lane

Milford, CT 06460

15October2013