I agree -- although I think some scientists will do rigorous science with dogs; as in any field there will be a Gaussian curve. However, although I do think thi

I agree -- although I think some scientists will do rigorous science with dogs; as in any field there will be a Gaussian curve. However, although I do think this is a set up to ask for more canine funding, I do think the public is not super keen on canine research -- I even feel the illogical repulsion and I understand the good outcomes that could come of this work. Also, we learn in basic neuroscience classes that animals can often seem like they are understanding you or have anthropomorphic characteristics, but oftentimes this is just imitation. An example of this is with Koko the gorilla that they taught sign-language to: she is thought to actually just be repeating things for treats, etc in order to make her handler happy.