Companion dogs, herding dogs, guard dogs, rescue dogs, guide dogs, law-enforcement dogs, and, of course, hunting dogs. All these and more attest to a unique (and marvellous) inter-species partnership. Humans and dogs have clearly co-evolved for close and loving mutual assistance.

The partnership is not symmetrical, however. Does anyone doubt that dogs are better at “reading” us than we are at reading them?  I didn’t think so. On the other hand, the average life span of a dog is much shorter than ours, which has both a downside and an upside.