To hear from a dog lover about why dogs are so special, we reached out to Teresa Keohane, the woman behind The Dogvine blog. "To me, dogs are so special because of the way they unconditionally love us as their humans," Teresa told Bored Panda. "They bring joy to people when life gets tough, and the love that a dog has towards you can't really be matched by any other animal - it's like having an ever-present therapy session, and one that is frequently extremely funny as well. Their capacity to love and ability to trust us implicitly is something that is truly unique and should be treasured."
We also asked Teresa what inspired her to turn her love for dogs into a career path. "Creating The Dogvine, a multiple award-winning London lifestyle blog and social community for dogs of London (also dubbed the Time Out for Dogs), was my way of fulfilling part of me that I just wouldn’t be able to do through other professional pursuits," she explained. "As a result, I have been lucky enough to be immersed in canine culture with all its rewards - experiencing so many amazing things with my rescue dog Belinha whilst capturing them on The Dogvine, so other city dog owners can enrich their time with their pups too."
We also asked Teresa what she wants everyone to understand about dogs. "Dogs are our best friends. They are incredibly intelligent, love us unconditionally and give their lives for the chance to be part of ours in a way no other animal can match, filling it with companionship while also giving so much more than they get back from us; including emotional support when we need them most, wanting nothing more than to spend time with us in return," she told Bored Panda. "So, it's only right that we do our utmost to make our dogs' lives as rich and full as possible for as long as they need us, especially when they are sick or old. Nothing upsets me more than seeing dogs cast aside because they no longer fit their human's lifestyle or because they are too much trouble in one way or another. Being there for them when they need it is the very least we can do to thank them for their devotion to us."
If you'd like to hear more from Teresa and keep up with her and Belinha's adventures, be sure to check out The Dogvine right here.
There is something about dogs that we just cannot get enough of. Their soft fluffy ears, their wet noses, their smiling faces and their unconditional love are all so special. What did we do to deserve man’s best friend? And WeRateDogs makes it very clear just how obsessed people are with these precious creatures. The Twitter account, which was started in November 2015, has over 9 million followers and has tweeted over 16k times. That’s a lot of adorable doggos.
And while the concept of rating anyone or anything can sound brutal on paper, this page does nothing but lift up adorable creatures. In fact, the creator has even used his platform to expand into philanthropy. In November 2021, WeRateDogs announced the beginning of the 15/10 Foundation. Started by Matt Nelson, who originally created the viral Twitter account, this foundation was launched to raise money for dogs in shelters who don't have access to the medical care they need.
Through fundraising once a week since 2016, WeRateDogs had already raised over $2 million to help cover medical expenses for various doggies whose families could not afford their treatments. But as his platform continued to grow, Matt was inspired to do even more to help dogs in need and eventually launched the 15/10 Foundation, named after the highest rating any dog has ever received on the Twitter account.
“The Foundation fills a void in the animal welfare world by sponsoring dogs with behavioral or medical issues unlikely to ever make it out of the shelter,” their website explains. “It hopes to channel the overwhelming support the WeRateDogs audience has shown for years into effective care for the dogs who need it most.”
The 15/10 Foundation is currently working with shelters in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Austin. When it comes to the role they play in helping struggling dogs, their site explains, “Some animals arrive at a shelter as injured strays or were surrendered because a previous owner could not afford the medical care the animal needed. These dogs are less likely to get adopted because the cost of their immediate medical and/or ongoing, lifetime care is prohibitive for new potential owners.”
“Often the only hope for these animals is a rescue or private party with the financial ability to sponsor the medical costs. Unfortunately, many rescues cannot take on the long-term financial burden these cases require. So, the 15/10 Foundation sponsors those dogs and fills that void. With their medical costs paid for, it becomes much easier for a rescue to say yes to pulling that dog and helping them find their forever home.”
Matt was inspired to start the foundation for various reasons, one of which being that in 2020 he adopted a dog with severe ear infections and visible arthritis. This dog, Doug, was unlikely to ever make it out of the shelter, as his medical issues were too much for many potential owners to handle. Thankfully, Matt was able to intervene and now provides Doug with a happy, healthy home for him to live out the rest of his days in. And thanks to 15/10, Matt now plays a role in helping many more dogs find loving families. On the foundation’s website, there is a page featuring all of the dogs they are currently sponsoring. Viewers can reach out to the shelters these dogs are currently living at, and then they will be added to the “adopted” section of the site, which thankfully features many dogs already.
It is wonderful that Matt has transformed WeRateDogs from a simple, joyful place on the internet to a life-changing organization helping countless dogs find their forever homes and recover from injuries and illnesses. It is heartbreaking to see a dog in need and not be able to do anything about it. Dogs have been looking out for us for centuries and even evolved to become more easily domesticated and more adorable so that humans would incorporate them into our lives and care for them. The bond between people and dogs is so strong, and we can’t help but feel a surge of oxytocin when staring into their big, beautiful eyes.
According to writer Joe Duncan, one reason we can’t help but melt when a dog meets us with a strong gaze is because their looks are completely judgment free. Joe explains the idea of “The Look” that came from Philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, which says that when another person looks at us, we are aware of their judgment and begin to worry or become self-conscious. But dogs cannot give us “The Look”. “They’ll never silently judge our work history or our sexual performance, they’ll never jump to conclusions about us that aren’t true, and they’ll never consider us responsible for them, even if they consider themselves absolutely responsible to us,” Joe writes. They only provide unconditional love.
Just by scrolling through this list for a few minutes it becomes extremely clear how greatly dogs can benefit our lives. They are so goofy and adorable that just seeing a photo of them can brighten our days. But aside from all of the selfish reasons we love dogs, they are incredible creatures in and of themselves. For example, their sense of smell is between 1,000 and 100,000 times more sensitive than ours. This is why dogs can be amazing police officers spotting drugs or truffle hunters in the forest. Their noses are powerful tools, so if you think you can eat a slice of bacon while Skip is napping in the other room, think again.
