Nonpartisan and Education-based News for Centreville
Storms around the Bay can be spectacular and frightening; sometimes both! “The Edge of the Storm” by Paul Hanley, Jr.
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It was a whispered comment, a quiet exchange of pleasantries…but they heard my voice anyway. Immediately, squealing, and excited barks echoed throughout the large room. The rock star had arrived. The dogs just couldn’t wait any longer.
When the groomer let them out to the pen, one leaped over her and the other crawled underneath. Too quickly for her to put on their collars and leashes, the cute, fluffy white dogs galloped across the room, howling in excitement. When they reached the gate, they tried to climb over it, or jump over it…anything to get to their rock star.
That improbable rock star was me.
I had left them to be groomed for a full 2 ½ hours and they were desperate to touch me, snuggle with me, kiss me, and go back home to the best place in the world.
I didn’t need to bother with leashes or collars, they weren’t leaving my side.
Despite their opinion, I am not a rock star, pretty ordinary actually. A retired senior citizen just picking up my dogs from the groomers.
But to them, I am the best person in the world. I am amazing. If they are sick, I can heal them. If they are scared, I can reassure them. If they are hurting, I can comfort them. If they are uncertain, I can lead them. If they are hungry, I can feed them. Yes, I am a rock star.
In that moment I wondered, do they love me? Or do they just love that I feed them, pet them, walk them, and clearly adore them?
I certainly love them. But do they love me?
Dogs are a unique species that can connect with a human on the human’s level. But do they love us?
Most scientists believe that they do. The dog-human bond is so strong that newer animal behaviorists recommend using praise instead of treats to reinforce behavior.
Why do scientists think that dogs love us?
The most obvious is their behavior.
There are also clinical indicators that dogs love us.
There is chemical evidence. Dog-human eye contact produces oxytocin. It is called the “Oxytocin-gaze positive loop.” Oxytocin is a hormone that works as a neurotransmitter in the brain to produce a feeling of “love” or “euphoria.” A 2015 study in Japan demonstrated that Oxytocin is released when humans and dogs gaze at each other.
There is MRI imagery. In 2014, Emory University researchers using an fMRI scan, found that the section of dogs’ brains associated with positive expectations reacted most strongly to the scent of their specific humans. A similar study in Budapest, Hungary, demonstrated similar results with the voice of their human.
Other findings suggest dogs can interpret the emotion in our voices, dogs can read our emotions. My dogs are really skilled at appearing apologetic when they make a mistake.
So, I choose to believe that my dogs love me almost as much as I love them. And I guess that I am a rock star after all. I just have a very small fan base.
Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.
The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.
The Spy sat down with Eastern Shore conservationist Chris Pupke, President of Queen Anne’s Conservation Association. In the eight minute video interview Pupke tells his vision of sustainable growth in QAC that also recognizes the need for planned economic development.
Pupke spoke about finding the balance between advocating for smart zoning and encouraging sustainable economic development–he cited the communities of Northbrook and Symphony Villages as projects QACA supported.
“[These are] appropriate places to grow,” he said.
Pupke has been critical of a prevailing “economic development concept” in Queen Anne’s County to build housing developments in corn fields.
Here Pupke clarifies QACA’s stance on growth and development in Queen Anne’s County.
Excerpts from the interview
Pupke plays overlapping roles with two other organizations, Biophilia and the Chesapeake Bay Wildlife Heritage, where as a grant coordinator he promotes wildlife diversity through habitat restoration on private property.
“It’s important for conservationists not to lose sight that there is a need for economic development, and that the other side is not always agitating for self interest,” Pupke said. “We want to be careful that we don’t make development decisions solely based on the economic self interest of a few individuals, but we need to look at the economic benefits to the entire county and the region.”
Compared to farms, sprawl developments provide less in taxes than they consume in public services, Pupke said.
“Development in farm fields has a very negative impact on our county budget,” Pupke said. Conversely, farms “provide more income in taxes than they use in county services.”
Pupke said sprawl can be cured by good legislation that allows the commissioners to measure the tax revenue benefit of a proposed development against the costs of county services to maintain the influx of new residents. Commissioners can then levy financial responsibility on the developer to subsidize the costs of an expanding population on the school system and roads. The developer of Northbrook followed a similar paradigm for the installation of a traffic light.
The Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance is just that kind of legislation. But in Pupke’s opinion, the APFO currently in place in Queen Anne’s County could be doing a lot more.
“What they have done in Queen Anne’s County recently is taken an excellent APFO ordinance and kind of dumbed it down a little bit, at the cost of increasing school crowding, which has a detrimental effect on our children’s education, which has a negative impact on making Queen Anne’s County such a great place to live,” Pupke said. “It will permit increased traffic on our dangerous roads [and make them] even more dangerous. And it will do so by allowing the taxpayers to subsidize the folks who are speculating on the real estate and trying to build more homes in the area.”
QACA hopes to work with the local PTA to reform the current iteration of APFO and enact concrete zoning laws for Queen Anne’s County.
Pupke grew up in Long Island and attended New Jersey’s Drew University. His ties to the Eastern Shore are through his mother’s family, which has roots in the area. Prior to his work with QACA, Pupke worked as the outdoor education coordinator for the Pickering Creek Audubon Center near Easton.
The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.
