This dog’s state of consciousness features an especially fun side:
PACK MENTALITY BLOG: Compassion - teamed with Science and Logic
Video: Dog takes the easy and fun way down the stairs
Category Archives: State of Consciousness
The case against the Supreme Court
Once again, the Supreme Court has handed down a decision that shows the majority of justices hold a complete lack of understanding of the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
This morning’s announcement that the court has ruled – in a 5-4 vote – that allowing limitless campaign donations in any particular election is protecting free speech is stunning. The five justices in this case have stepped away from any real Constitutional principle to do nothing more than protect the very wealthy and to support the purchasing of elections.
This is something we should all be united against. Limiting the amount of money one can donate in an election cannot be equated with free speech, unless we all had the capability to donate huge amounts in equal parts. In this case, the court is ruling the very wealthy have more in the way of rights – to impact elections.
And in regard to the previous Citizens United ruling, corporations are not people. And this is where writing about this in an animal-welfare blog is highly appropriate. My dogs are far closer to being people than any corporation. At least dogs and other animals have a state of consciousness and a circulatory system.
On the other end, some corporations not only are lacking in the area of states of consciousness, some engage in actions that are not at all conscientious. So five of the what I call the “injustices” would have us believe that conscious beings that experience emotion and suffer if mistreated should not be afforded any more in the way of rights that a kitchen stove enjoys.
And yet, the five injustices believe corporations are people and massive campaign donations are protected free speech, with all of the rights that go with that protection. A group of 4-year-olds could better follow the Constitution.
When we were all young, we probably looked at people in positions of power – Presidents, Congressmen, Supreme Court justices and governors – as being really smart people. After all, they hold these high offices. I don’t know about you, but the older I get and with the more information I consume, the more I understand some of these officials have reached their higher offices with barely any, if zero credentials to hold these positions.
PACK MENTALITY BLOG: Compassion - teamed with Science and Logic
Videos show dogs trying to revive friends
I received a link today to a video showing a dog trying to revive his friend, who had been struck and killed on a highway. (I won’t post the video here, as it is too emotional.)
I noticed a few other videos on the YouTube page with the same theme and the thoughts that this shows dogs showing compassion for others. I am a true believer. The dogs are shown pawing or nuzzling their friends or licking them, trying to revived them – and sitting close by.
It offers more evidence, above the already irrefutable evidence that dogs (and other animals) do have self-awareness and a state of consciousness.
PACK MENTALITY BLOG: Compassion - teamed with Science and Logic
So that’s the problem with those who oppose breeding regulations
Every time I read a comment from someone who states there are no definitions for a puppy mill, I respond with the definition. But of course, those who oppose breeding regulations continue to make this false claim.
But it hit me this morning as I read through some alerts on the Pack News Wire. These people just don’t know what a puppy mill is. That’s the problem. It’s people who don’t understand what it means for an animal to suffer.
I’m sure for some of them, it’s a matter of pure propaganda. But for so many of them, it’s a complete lack of knowledge in this area. They don’t understand that dogs and cats and other animals possess a state of consciousness and therefore can suffer both emotionally and physically.
Sadly, for some people, animals are nothing more than property, with no more capacity to experience emotion than a washing machine.
So there it is. For some of those opposed to important breeding regulations that can protect dogs and cats from suffering, it is matter of protecting the profit margin. But for others, it comes from a lack of understanding and awareness of the level of emotion animals can experience.
For either source of the position, the outcome is horrible for breeding animals. They really don’t know what a puppy mill is. In 2013, with all of the information available on various web-enabled devices and with the advancements and findings in scientific research, it is sad to consider that some people still don’t get it.
So here it is: A puppy mill forces the parent dogs to live 24/7 (or nearly) in small cages, with very little or no time for exercise or play. The dogs are offered no veterinary care to speak of and often live in unsanitary conditions. The moms are bred too often. And overall, profit takes precedent over health.
Farm Sanctuary: Chickens are smarter than a 4-year-old human
Bruce Friedrich of the Farm Sanctuary wrote an editorial concerning the intelligence level of chickens, published August 16 on the New York Daily News website.
Friedrich notes the Farm Sanctuary has been caring for rescued chickens and other animals for 25 years. They have “come to understand them as individuals with interests, desires, and personalities.” They respond to their names and react when they are called.
He references supporting research by the University of Bristol, where the studies suggest the chickens can be smarter than human toddlers. Chickens show a capacity for “empathy, navigation, communication, social interaction, transitive inference” and learning basic arithmetic.
We are learning so much more of late about animal cognition and state of consciousness. The studies are troubling for segments of society that might have a financial problem with this news getting out to general public. Some industries will resist humane methods of treatment for animals, because they will claim it cost more.
But the science is in and it can no longer be ignored.
PACK MENTALITY BLOG: Compassion - teamed with Science and Logic
Video: Important studies on canine cognition
Studies have been going on for years at Duke University – in researching dog cognition.
Our pets are connected to us a special level and animals such as dogs and cats do truly possess self-awareness and individual states of consciousness.
PACK MENTALITY BLOG: Compassion - teamed with Science and LogicPod of sperm whales adopt a deformed bottlenose dolphin
A scientist witnessed and photographed a fantastic occurrence back in 2011, one reported on the MailOnline.com website out of the UK.
Over a period of several days, a pod of sperm whales adopted a deformed bottlenose dolphin. The dolphin and the whales rubbed against each other and exchanged acts of affection.
The scientists believe the dolphin was pushed out of his normal social or family group, due to his spinal deformity.
This is incredible and once again shows the level of consciousness and self-awareness in animals, especially those of the higher orders, like whales and dolphins.
Building on the Tweet Machine
Of late, I’ve been trying to increase my activity on Twitter. I’m not a social media pro by any stretch, but the effort is underway.
I think it’s a great way to get out more animal-welfare news. So beyond the links to blog posts, I’m linking to other stories and news on my Twitter account.
Please help me by spreading the word about the blog site and the Twitter page – at Twitter.com/PackMentBlog.
I’m trying to spread information far and wide, concerning compassion for animals and concerning hot animal-welfare items in the news. I also intend to write more about self-awareness and state of consciousness in animals – more about their emotions. And I’m getting closer to finishing a new book on this topics.
And going forward, I may occasionally step outside the direct topic of animals and into the pack mentality of the human animal.
Thank you visiting the blog – and if you can, thank you for spreading the word.
Tom Grady
Research test offers more proof of self-awareness and a sense of fairness in animals
The ever-growing, hugely-extensive mountain of evidence that animals have a state of consciousness and self-awareness gains another important bit of proof in this video.
Capuchin monkeys were trained to give a researcher a pebble and in return they would receive a slice of cucumber. The monkeys clearly like grapes much better. So when one began to receive grapes as the reward, the other started throwing back its pieces of cucumber. (Can you blame him or her?)
The monkey clearly doesn’t think this is fair and gets pretty pissed about the unfairness. Reportedly, the monkeys do get to live together and a more humane setting. But they go into the smaller enclosures for the experiments. While I am very opposed to much of the testing done on animals, this sort of study – as long as the animals are humane treated to the highest standards – is very important to our understanding of animal cognition and consciousness.
The next step needs to be for reports on studies such as this to be distributed far and wide. We need our elected officials and everyone to understand the meaning of facts uncovered in this research. We should no longer allow torture and cruelty to any being with self-awareness. It’s barbaric.
Note: Thanks go to my brother Gary for finding this video and passing it along.
Dog tries twice to visit his guardian at hospital
A husky twice recently escaped his yard and attempted to visit his guardian in a nearby hospital. And some people might try to tell us dogs don’t have self-awareness.
A story posted Thursday on the Opposing Views website tells Zander’s story. A family member was hospitalized with a skin condition about two miles from Zander’s home. He most likely followed his scent to the Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in Bay Shore, NY, where he was found roaming the grounds.
A couple of days later, he tried again.
This is just another piece of evidence as to our connection with our pets and their keen state of consciousness.