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Man’s Best (and Most Energy Efficient?) Friend
My cousin Mark is a pretty smart guy who reads widely. (All my cousins are above average.) Here is what Mark sent to me in an e-mail about dogs:
Professor Temple Grandin says that dogs are genetic wolves that have co-evolved with humans for 100,000 years, maybe more. Hence dogs and humans have complementary advantages and deficits. Humans used to have a better sense of hearing and smell, now dogs are better than us at those. Humans walk upright and have better vision and organizational skills, so dogs depend on us to see things and try to find them. Both are social creatures. So the lesson is that Nature has bundled the hardware and software for these skills and abilities between the two species. Unbundling them carries certain risks, so you should try to live with a dog if you can.
I agree that dogs and humans are a pretty good combination. We’ve had a dog for about two years now. Cooper is a medium-sized Labradoodle, which is a Lab and Poodle mix. He’s a great dog and we love him a lot. He’s heartbreakingly cute and cuddly. He has a Lab’s great disposition and a Poodle’s smarts. We think he’s the best dog ever.
But, along with being a good partner, is Cooper an energy efficient addition to our household? Are pets, and dogs in particular, a step in the right direction in the battle against global warming and the fight for energy security? Is Underdog more than a cartoon?
I think “bundling” ourselves with animals is a good idea for lots of reasons, but here is why I think dogs are energy efficient:
1.) Dogs add warmth in the winter and stay outside most of the time in the summer, so they don’t add much to a house’s cooling load.
2.) Dogs add fur in the winter and cool themselves using their tongues. Try that, humans!
3.) When he has nothing to do, Cooper lays down flat as a pancake and barely moves, thereby conserving energy.
4.) Dogs are great alarm systems and don’t even need batteries.
5.) Dogs eat stuff that humans throw away. They will clean your plates if you let them, saving water and energy.
6.) Because dogs need to be walked, they cause their owners to exercise, reducing their owners’ appetite and therefore their food intake (that’s how it’s supposed to work).
7.) Dogs give you unconditional love and so you don’t have to drive your car to visit family and friends.
Anybody want to weigh in on cats?
Views: 15
Tags: Grandin, Temple, dogs, efficiency, energy
Comment
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Comment by Jim Gunshinan on November 9, 2010 at 3:00pm -
I'm glad you see the humor in my post! I shared the post on a Web site several months ago and got a complaint from someone who thought that pets in general are not energy efficient and that we should stop keeping pets if we are serous about saving the planet.
I think you'd agree. A planet without pets may be a little more efficient, but then many many more people would be taking high doses of antidepressants.
Cooper helps my marriage—we have something to focus on besides each other! And he is keeping us both in shape and well connected with our neighbors. We are known as Cooper's Dad and Cooper's Mom.
If I weren't living in California, I would be temped to use Cooper as a hat...
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Comment by Dale Sherman on November 9, 2010 at 2:43pm -
Yeah, regarding #4, I find some dogs alarm goes off when the cat stomps his feet when it should only go off for something like the UPS truck pulling into the driveway. Isn't there a UL standard for alarm sensitivity? My own dog's alarm is just right, we calibrated him back when he was a pup.
I really like Nick's foot warming feature in the Winter.
One of our cats likes to climb up and curl up on top of my head, thus reducing my personal heat loss. I even get to look like Davy Crockett, only with a live hat. I can't be very active while I'm wearing a cat hat, otherwise myhatcat sinks claws into my scalp to stay on.
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