What Are The Animals To Us

In What Are the Animals to Us? scholars from a wide variety of academic disciplines explore the diverse meanings of animals in science, religion, folklore, literature, and art.

The author of "Animals in Translation" employs her own experience with autism and her background as an animal scientist to show how to give animals the best and happiest life.

Love, Loyalty, Heroism, and Other Life Lessons from Our Pets Within the kind heart of the family pet lies an ability to help us stay in touch with our inner selves, our true instincts, and our healing power. A companion animal's love for life and for its human companions can inspire us to live each day to the fullest, treat others with kindness, and nurture those around us. In "What Animals Teach Us, author Mary Hessler-Key uncovers how the animals we share our homes with can teach us valuable lessons about living and loving. Inside are touching stories and beautiful examples of how the day-to-day companionship of an animal can teach you how to enrich your life, enhance your physical and emotional well-being, and soothe your soul in moments of grief. From animals who help us through life's everyday trials and tribulations to those who commit miraculous and heroic acts, you'll read about: -A dog who helps a couple fill the "empty nest" syndrome when their children leave for college -A cat who serves as an agressive alarm clock so his owner makes an important meeting -A hamster who brightens his seven-year-old owner's world when he survives accidentally being flushed down the toilet -Two ferrets who help an autistic child cope with everyday life -And many others When we open our hearts and accept what our companion animals have to teach us, we gain not only the secrets to a more fulfilling life but also a greater sense of peace and compassion. As we learn to love others unconditionally, be emotionally available during times of need, act heroically in everyday situations, and discover the joy in simple play, we raise our own consciousness to the world aroundus. It's simple: Our companion animals give us the best gift of all. "An outstanding and unforgettable celebration of the special friendship of animals." --Marty Becker, D.V.M., coauthor of "Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul "Reading "What Animals Teach Us is the next-best thing to sharing your life with an animal companion. Numerous stories of loyalty, trust, respect, compassion, and love fill its pages, and they will fill your heart. Read it, be mindful, and be sure to play more and more." --Marc Bekoff, professor of biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, author of "Strolling with Our Kin and coauthor of "Nature's Life Lessons "This wonderful book chronicles how hard and well our pets are working to teach us lifesaving lessons about love." --Margaret Wheatley, author of "Leadership and the New Science ""What Animals Teach Us combines wonderfully told stories of animals' spiritual qualities with inspiring and practical applications to humans' daily lives." --Allen and Linda Anderson, authors of "Angel Animals

A leading anthrozoologist and the bestselling author of Dog Sense and Cat Sense explains why we are so drawn to pets. Historically, we relied on our pets to herd livestock, guard homes, and catch pests. But most of us don't need animals to do these things anymore. Pets have never been less necessary. And yet, pet ownership has never been more common than it is today: half of American households contain a cat, a dog, or both. Why are pets still around? In The Animals Among Us, John Bradshaw, one of the world's leading authorities on the relationship between humans and animals, argues that pet ownership is actually an intrinsic part of human nature. He explains how our empathy with animals evolved into a desire for pets, why we still welcome them into our families, and why we mourn them so deeply when they die. Drawing on the latest research in biology and psychology, as well as fields as diverse as robotics and musicology, The Animals Among Us is a surprising and affectionate history of humanity's best friends.

"This book celebrates the history and science of applied ethology, and commemorates the 50th anniversary of the International Society for Applied Ethology. Through themes such as human-animal interaction, play behaviour, cognition, evolutionary theory and the relationship between applied ethology and animal welfare science, the book examines why ethologists are so passionate about their work, and why this field remains more exciting now than ever."--Page 4 de la couverture.

'The modern day Doctor Dolittle' (Guardian), bestselling author of Animals in Translation, investigates the secrets of mental health in animals.

I wanted to know what they were experiencing, and why to us they feel so compelling, and so-close. This time I allowed myself to ask them the question that for a scientist was forbidden fruit: Who are you? Weaving decades of field observations with exciting new discoveries about the brain, Carl Safina's landmark book offers an intimate view of animal behavior to challenge the fixed boundary between humans and nonhuman animals. In Beyond Words, readers travel to Amboseli National Park in the threatened landscape of Kenya and witness struggling elephant families work out how to survive poaching and drought, then to Yellowstone National Park to observe wolves sort out the aftermath of one pack's personal tragedy, and finally plunge into the astonishingly peaceful society of killer whales living in the crystalline waters of the Pacific Northwest. Beyond Words brings forth powerful and illuminating insight into the unique personalities of animals through extraordinary stories of animal joy, grief, jealousy, anger, and love. The similarity between human and nonhuman consciousness, self-awareness, and empathy calls us to re-evaluate how we interact with animals. Wise, passionate, and eye-opening at every turn, Beyond Words is ultimately a graceful examination of humanity's place in the world.

Do our relationships with animals bring us closer to God?