Humanity

An article published on Oct. 5 in the Sunday Review of the New York Times, provocatively titled “Dogs Are People, Too” and written by neuroeconomics professor and author Gregory Berns, went viral on Facebook among animal rights advocates and animal lovers. But many didn’t need to be told that. Any animal lover will say that the bond between people and their dogs has little to do with science, and belongs more to the realm of God, country, and all things essential to our existence.

We’re not talking only of people who bejewel their dogs and spray them with cologne—often the subject of anger in a developing country where some children make do with less than what pampered pets have. It doesn’t take an overflow of resources to be kind; dogs will accept whatever love can be spared, as shown quite clearly by the homeless man with the kariton who shares his meals with his loyal “aspin.”

Still, the empirical premise behind the New York Times study is fascinating. Berns and his colleagues trained some dogs to calmly submit to an MRI scan—and discovered reactions in their brains that can only be described as, well, human. “It has been easy to sidestep the difficult questions about animal sentience and emotions because they have been unanswerable,” Berns wrote. “Until now.”

The brain region in question is called the caudate nucleus; in humans, it is the seat of anticipation, where reactions to such stimulants as food, money, beauty and love have actually been measured. In dogs, the caudate nucleus was found to react to food, the scent of familiar humans, and even the return of a dog’s owner after he/she left the room.

“The ability to experience positive emotions, like love and attachment, would mean that dogs have a level of sentience comparable to that of a human child,” Berns wrote. “…And this means we must reconsider their treatment as property.”

Berns went on to describe every dog lover’s utopia, where the rights of humankind’s most unwavering companion will be recognized, and all forms of exploitation will be deemed a violation of such rights. Two days before the article was run, Filipino animal welfare advocates came a small step closer to a utopia of their own, as President Aquino signed into law the new and improved Animal Welfare Act—Republic Act No. 10631, “An Act Amending Certain Sections of Republic Act No. 8485, Otherwise Known as ‘The Animal Welfare Act of 1998.’” While the new law can do with future amendments, and the advocacy continues, for now it can be considered a happy ending of sorts.

Animal welfare groups have fought a long, difficult battle for this, in the face of constant delays, business interests (the dog meat trade and dog-fighting syndicates), other, more “urgent” government priorities, and officials with little or no understanding of animal welfare.

Well-meaning as it may have been, RA 8485 was long overdue for change, what with pathetic penalties like a maximum two-year imprisonment and a P5,000 fine. Although violators still face no more than two years in jail, key amendments have kicked penalties up to between P30,000 and P100,000 for cruelty cases. That can go up to P250,000 if more than three animals are involved, and if the violator is a syndicate, a government official, or, despicably, someone in the business of animal cruelty. The last refers to those who slaughter dogs for their meat or make “crush” videos of animal torture to sell on the Internet, and the Koreans who came to the Philippines two years ago to set up a dog-fighting ring for international online gambling.

When that last barbaric enterprise was busted in separate raids in December 2011 and March 2012 in Cavite and Laguna, almost 600 emaciated, battle-scarred pit bulls were rescued. Animal activists like Nena Hernandez of Island Rescue Organization, Nancy Cu-Unjieng of Compassion and Responsibility for Animals (Cara), and Tina Alviar-Agbayani have tirelessly worked to rehabilitate the survivors and get them adopted.

But long after the Koreans were penalized—too lightly—the Cavite and Laguna dogs are still paying the price of such astounding cruelty. Dozens have been lost to disease and injury, including kidney failure from steroids injected to make them oblivious to pain in the ring.

Recently, Cara volunteers and friends celebrated as a Laguna pit bull, named Tinkerbell, made the remarkable journey to Los Angeles, California, where her new human family lives. That journey from suffering to salvation has been miraculous. Tinkerbell and all suffering animals in the Philippines deserve their own happy endings.