| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| HTA ID | HTA-0594 |
| Title | Dogs and Humans — A Remarkable Synergistic Relationship |
| Era | KRON-TV (San Francisco, ~2009–2013) |
| Station | KRON-TV Channel 4 |
| Program | KRON4 News Weekend |
| Role | Host / Reporter / Interviewer |
| Segment Type | Feature |
| Duration | ~3:28 |
| Source File | 1258013_4530302355007_17499_n.txt |
| Record Version | V1 (Transcript Only) |
Henry explores the ancient bond between humans and canines and their synergistic relationship throughout history.
00:00 All over the world and, well, far, far back in time, humans and canines have had a remarkable synergistic relationship. 00:09 It's a relationship that is chronicled in a book called Dogs Make Us Human with photographs by Art Wolfe and text by Jeffrey Musaief Mason, who is, as far as I can tell, the most interesting man in the world. 00:22 He's a psychoanalyst, and he's studied the relationship between humans and animals, and we're very glad to have him with us. 00:31 So what is there about canines that makes us even more human? 00:36 Yeah, well, it's an interesting question. 00:39 What is it? 00:40 People who live with dogs feel that they're better than they would be if they were not living with dogs. 00:45 And I think that's absolutely true. 00:47 And is that just true today and in San Francisco? 00:50 It's true all over the world. 00:52 People have this very deep bond. 00:54 It seems as if we almost evolved as a single species. 00:59 We've co-evolved together. 01:00 They do things for us that we can't do for ourselves. 01:04 In many different levels. 01:05 So you can look at it on an emotional level. 01:09 You can look at it on a working level. 01:12 And the two species, there's been a lot of theories about this, did come together. 01:16 The dogs, to some extent, bred themselves to fit us, and we bred ourselves to fit them. 01:21 That's right. 01:21 And that's why it's only dogs who can read our emotions so clearly. 01:26 They know exactly what we're feeling. 01:29 They don't even have to look at you. 01:31 They just feel it. 01:32 They know. 01:33 So when you're sad, they put their head on your lap and they look up at you. 01:36 It's going to be okay. 01:38 And the universality of it is what this book really shows us. 01:42 Is that in so many different ways, in so many different cultures, this has happened. 01:46 That's kind of a miracle that one species could extend throughout every continent on Earth. 01:52 I can't think of a culture that doesn't have dogs. 01:54 No, there's no place where they're humans, where they're not dogs, 01:57 and where they're not living in a kind of symbiotic relationship. 02:01 And you're right, sometimes that's a work relationship, 02:03 and other times it's a pure love relationship. 02:06 You know, I don't want to sleep without my dog in my bed. 02:09 That's how we feel. 02:11 But everywhere people need them. 02:13 Even in Australia, I noticed, I met some Aborigines who were living with dingoes, 02:17 where it's very cold and they sleep with the dingoes because the dingoes keep them warm. 02:23 Dogs are geniuses in certain characteristics. 02:26 There are things that make them far more perceptive than we are. 02:30 Can you talk about that a little? 02:31 Well, I'm always amazed. 02:33 You know, there are certain scientists who believe for a long time that dogs can't tell the future. 02:38 They don't have a sense of time, of what's coming next. 02:41 And that's completely false. 02:43 I mean, the other day I got stuck on a cliff with my dog. 02:47 And we misread the time in New Zealand, the tides, the time of the tides, and there we were on this cliff. 02:54 And I was able to get down, and my dog, Benji, looked, and I could see him wondering, can I do this? 02:59 Can I not do it? What will happen to me? 03:01 He was thinking about the future, and in the end, I got him down. 03:05 But he was wondering what's going to happen. 03:08 Jeffrey Musayef Mason, the book is called Dogs Make Us Human, It's Beautiful, 03:14 And Jeffrey will be at Book Passage today at 1 p.m., Book Passage in Corte Madera. 03:18 Jeffrey Mason with twos.com for more information. 03:22 And this is a gorgeous book. Congratulations. 03:24 Thank you, Henry. 03:24 It was a pleasure seeing you again. 03:26 It's always wonderful to see you. 03:27 Isabel, back to you. 03:28 Thanks.