Dogs are people too?

[popeyespappy]

Yep. Seems like a waste of research dollars.

I disagree.

Maybe, somehow, somewhere........ in a galaxy far far away.......
this research might serve a purpose.

I disagree because animal sentience is key to the concept of animal rights. One of the ways humans justify treating other animals like shit is the thought that they are different than we are. Many believe they are not capable of emotions such as love and fear. Some don't even believe they are capable of experiencing pain. This is exactly the type of research that may be able to provide verifiable empirical evidence to show these people that other animals besides humans are capable of both feelings and reason.

In one recent study Dr Jenia Meng ranked sentience in animals as: human infant>other apes>other mammals>birds>cold blood animals. This study suggests dogs are on par with a human 2 year old. If that is true, and I suspect it is, then an adult chimp probably quite a bit further up the cognitive ladder than that.