It can sometimes seem like there is a day to honor everything. While causes such as national cancer day and women’s day bring light to a charity that needs our support and a diversity issue that needs our attention, other world days seem less important. One day that is of incredible importance falls on March 3rd. That day is “What if cats and dogs had opposable thumbs day”.
One of the things that separate man from many animals is opposable thumbs. While many animals do have opposable thumbs such as apes, frogs, pandas (and even dinosaurs) many do not. Opposable thumbs are incredibly useful as they allow us to interact with much of our surroundings. We can open things, hold things, grab things, it really is a powerful feature.
When you consider the common pet the lack of opposable thumbs is one of the reasons they are so reliant on us as caregivers. If dogs and cats had opposable thumbs would they need us for food or to let them outside? Likely not.
With that in mind “What if cats and dogs had opposable thumbs day” was created as a day to contemplate that very question. To acknowledge the things we do for our pets and the things they do for us. It is a day to examine the symbiotic relationship between pet and owner and to ask the serious questions that if they were not so dependant on us, would they still love us?
I think the answer is very much yes. Dogs, in particular, are such a compassionate animal that even if they had to look after us completely I think they would still be so happy to see us every day. Cats, on the other hand, I am not sure. Whatever you think about it, this March 3rd make sure you thank your pets for being in your life and maybe leave some jars lying around the house just to see if they have evolved recently.
