Of all the coronavirus conspiracy theories circulating on social media, my favorite has got to be one that says the virus was developed and deployed by dogs. Like all conspiracy theories, it is patently false, but it does contain an insight into our current situation that is incredibly accurate and true.
As human beings aim to keep their distance from each other and work, study, and even socialize from home, the real winners are the dogs. No longer are they left alone in the house for hours on end, we really have nowhere to go. No longer do they beg to go out for walks, we want to go too and need it just as much as they do. No longer do they wait for us to give them attention, they already have it 24/7.
And not just that…many of us, surrendering to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic and the incessant nagging of our own children, adopted dogs -- or even a second dog -- when we were not even planning to do so.
The current thinking on the domestication of the canine theorizes that dogs domesticated themselves and made us take them in. And now it seems they are doing it all over again. As I watch reports on the spread of the virus and its impact on the human population of planet Earth, all I can think of are the dogs, quietly and patiently pulling the strings.
And that’s a good thing…for the dogs and for us.
I’m David Gunkel, and that’s my Perspective.
