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VanillaCookieMonster t1_j7t9i25 wrote

Did anyone consider that she wanted to stay at the shelter? She went "home".

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Jiktten t1_j7tlben wrote

Yeah, I really hope she just got lost/confused rather than intentionally leaving her new family, only to now be returned to them.

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ChileWillow007 t1_j7uc344 wrote

I know how fucked up this is, but all I could think of was that victim of Dahmer's who sought help and was returned to him by the police..

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gonejellyfishin77 t1_j7trhnx wrote

Exactly. If dogs truly love you unconditionally then why are they always running away?

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BernieMP t1_j7u7bn3 wrote

They like wandering around, exploring and sniffing their surroundings, so they are exited to do so when they get the chance

Then they just get lost, stolen/taken in by people, or sadly hit by a car

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chintakoro t1_j7uqo63 wrote

being boxed in a house is not ideal for a dog. they want out. but that doesn’t mean they hate their owners – just that houses are not natural environments for them. also, dogs love the company of other dogs. i guess ideally for them, you’d be running around in the wild with them making new doggie friends!

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castpearls t1_j7tih65 wrote

That’s what went through my head, especially with the smiling photo.

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gonejellyfishin77 t1_j7trmd4 wrote

Dogs can't smile. Please don't anthropomorphize.

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MyDucksAreCute t1_j7tx3d5 wrote

Dogs can 100% smile.

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rhodopensis t1_j7u6vgw wrote

The expression that we call “smiling” is for them a different expression. Teeth bared can be fear, aggression, mouth open from panting after a long walk, etc. Anthropomorphizing animals leads to bad misinterpretations of situations.

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Johnyryal3 t1_j7udlmo wrote

No, its them mimicking our smiling at them. Dogs have evolved to mimic our facial expressions. Plenty of studies on it.

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chintakoro t1_j7uq5gh wrote

Dogs don’t smile because they’re happy. They smile because they know it makes US happy. And I think that’s still quite precious.

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MyDucksAreCute t1_j7v3njq wrote

No.

Dogs make a lot of facial expressions. They can certainly bare their teeth out of fear or aggression. That's much different from a dog wagging its tail and grinning when its owner comes home and is ready to play. Dogs can have a sense of humor, and they can grieve as well.

We don't want to anthropomorphize animals too much, but we also don't want to strip them down to robots and pretend they don't have emotions. They certainly do.

I have spent over a decade working with animals.

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rhodopensis t1_j7x1itv wrote

I never said that they were robots nor that they lacked emotion. Many do believe that. But not me. You are putting a lot of words into my mouth with that comment.

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Butt_Putnam t1_j7utxx0 wrote

Except they can and they do... It simply isn't an analogous 1:1 representation of what a human smile means. It's not anthropomorphising to say that a smiling dog is happy, but it is if you suggest that it can only mean happiness. Dogs will smile when they're calm, content, and happy, but they will also smile when they're being submissive or scared, it has to be taken into context with the rest of the body language being displayed and the circumstance.

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Butt_Putnam t1_j7ur24h wrote

I mean maybe... But also worth considering is that she knew the place, was close to it, and it smelled like dog. I have a husky who's too smart for his own good, and if I'm being honest probably gets spoiled a little too much. He has a good life, is what I'm saying. He also goes into full sled-dog sprinting mode trying to pull us down the sidewalk when we walk past a nearby groomer/doggy daycare spot we've boarded him in the past. He hates getting groomed, he just loves other dogs and he knows there's a ton of them there he gets to interact with. He seeks it out so often on his walks that if he ever went missing I would definitely think to check there.

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gonejellyfishin77 t1_j7trk63 wrote

Shhhh you're ruining the false narrative of greed that shelters are horrible places that animals need to be "rescued" from!!

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