animals care about us as much as we care about them? Or, if they could care as much, they would?

I mean, do you think a cat or a dog would pay thousands of dollars to save your life, if they could? They do seem to help if they can or if they know to in some situations, but is their love for us equal to the love we have for them, or atleast as equal as it can be given our differences?

i think my cat loves me,when family comes to visit she tries to bite and claw them lol

I never had any doubt my horses, or my dogs would die for me.

When I was younger (8-10), and my first horse, Abe, was alive, my folks had allowed some friends to board their horses. The horses would harass Kissy and run Abe off. I went walking back in the pasture to catch Abe to go for a ride. I was walking along the fence, and they started to come after me. Abe ran parallel to them, as they racedby biting and kicking him. They turned around, and came back at me and he put himself between them and me, and half fought them, but basically let them tear into me so they wouldn't hurt me. I was pressed up against the fence.

Fortunately, mom was talking to a neighbor friend, who saw what was happening and they hauled arse out and rescued me and Abe. The people came and got their horses the next day.


When we first moved back to Texas, we were having issues with the original owner trying to sell of plots of acreage when he was chit-faced drunk. I rode up several times to find people measuring out places to put their house, and one guy was so pissed at the impertinent teen telling him off he actually reached up and tried to pull me off the horse. Chance bit him, and stepped on his foot, basically walking over him to get him to back off.

This is just 2 stories. Some things I was stupid enough to have done, and it's amazing looking back that I survived, and other things were just things happening, but my horses saved my arse.

I believe there is no comparison,.. because they would give everything they were,.. including their own lives to save us,..could we say the same ?

Well I can speak for my late dog simba and my present dog Cherokee, they both would die for me and Simba could tell just looking at me what I was thinking, so yes animals can understand just about anything!!

I had a dog once when I was a teen & a few bullies decided to start a fight with me on the street. My dog dove in bearing his teeth & they ran!! Then my FIL had a Collie that was really a gentle dog. One day I heard my young son crying as he was playing outside & the dog had knocked him down on the ground. I watched a minute & when my son got back up the dog grabbed his hand in his mouth & started pulling on him & then knocked him down again. When I went out to see what was going on my son was heading into the path of a copperhead. The dog was protecting him!!

I know my animals miss me just by the way they attack me when I have been away from them, like it has been forever since they saw me. I love it. When a cat purrs, the cat is accepting you as a parent. So, yes animals make connections, maybe not the complete emotional spectrum of a human connection.

No

Sure they would and anyone that has had any animals and took care of them properly would tell you that.

I had horses for 17 years and I could not tell ya how many times they had actually put themselves between me and a dangerous situation. One evening I was going out to feed where I had my horse stabled with about 50 others in the same pasture.

It getting dark as I came out of the shed with the hay and going towards the stalls there was another horse that just all of a sudden started to charge me. I did not even see him my view was blocked from the hay my horse was already in the stall waiting for me. When all of a sudden he bolted out of the stall and got in between me and the other horse he was so close to me that he was actually up against me. It happen so fast he startled the other horse as well. If he had not done what he did the other horse would have kicked me for he had flipped around to do so and just barely missed my horse at the time...

Not even two days later I was in my stalls feeding and the same horse charged another lady but..... this time he made his mark flipped around right in front of me and kicked her. My horses were already in their stalls with me when it happen. Luckily it did not kick her solid for it caught her on the side of her head she was shook up and bruised but okay. Needless to say the stable owners had them remove the horse after that.

That is only one occasion domesticated animals would give their lives for their owners. There are even incidents where a wild animal at times have saved a human from great harm or even death......

That's not love. That's possessiveness.

I think animals see us as being one of them, a part of their group/family. I think it's only natural for them to care for us as one of their own.

Has anyone ever read any of the books by Jeffrey Mousaieff Masson? Dogs Never Lie About Love, When Elephants Weep, etc?

Good books.

There was a story on the news of a dog who threw itself in front of a cougar that was going for the boy. The dog risked its life just for the boy, police came(I think it was them) and found the cougar with his teeth dug into the dog.they shot and killed the cougar and found the dog not moving,a few seconds later the dog got up and went to the boy.

there was also a story with me when I was about 5 I dont remember it but my parents got it on video where I was trying to go over a fence and my dog Jr. came and pulled me down from the fence, every time I kept trying to get over the fence, he would just pull me back down and stay right next to me.Animals do care...

Look at the stories on the news with the dogs (total strangers) keeping a child warm till the searchers found them.

One of my "babysitters" growing up was a black Great Dane. Pepper hated the ocean, and would go in and drag us out. Frustrated us no end as kids, but as my folks explained,she thought she was protecting us.

I was watching this video on YouTube. This guy helped raise this pride of 30 lions, and when they would seem him, they would jump on him and wrestle with him and play to greet him. These lions were huge. This guy was obviously insane, but the cats knew him and accepted him.

Im sure they do!

I think animals can bond with their offspring and their tribe and if there are humans caring for them, this can become their tribe. I think its more a pack mentality that they look after their own and when we have a pet we fall in that category. I dont think its the same spiritual type emotion that humans have, but I certainly am sure that one animal will lay down its life for a member of the pack,,even if its human.

I know many people who can't bond spiritually/emotionally to another person.

I think the excuse of pack mentality is to convienent. People are good at doing the pack mentality as well and can be made to do so many things, good and bad.

Just over two years ago, I was injured in Iraq. When I got back, my loyal dog, Scout was so different. He would not leave my side, and if he heard something outside, he was protective to the extreem. While I started to get myself back into life, he was vigilent and I feel knew I needed to walk more...He would bark at me when I had what I thought was enough of a walk, and this made me walk him more...He knew and helped me get better.....Now he knows I am doing fine, he is back to his joyful self and knows I can take care of me and him........He is getting old....When he goes, the grief will be intense...I didn't cry when my Dad died, but I am crying writing this.

Animals operate on instinct.
Would that we could.
I would like to see a pet trying to
withdraw funds at the bank, however.

I think it's more instinctive loyalty, devotion etc .. They love as much as they KNOW about the feeling.