Daniel Yonathan
Professor Batty
English 114B
2 May 2013
Send the Dogs First
In today’s society humans utilize animals for their own benefit. Animals are continuously
vivisected and exploited to make human life better. Moreover society has found a way to
integrate dogs into daily living. Specifically the police force has been trained dogs to perform
tasks too difficult or dangerous for humans to execute swiftly and out of harm’s way. Since the
turn of the century German Shepherds and other dogs have been used in the armed forces.
Animals being used to aid society is not just a real life scenario, it has been discussed in several
texts even graphic novels. The graphic novel We3 by Grant Morrison is a fictitious depiction of
animals being used as weapons similar to the way K9’s are used in the police and military. The
only difference is that the animals in the novel rebel. Although animals, particularly the K9 unit,
are used to preform undesirable tasks it is because of the way humans admire their skillset and
not value their life that makes them so useful, yet expendable.
The human animal relationship is completely paradoxical. This can be seen in the way
human’s view K9’s in the armed forces. Their beliefs are seemingly contradictory when it comes
to valuing animal life and skill. The dogs used in the military and police are trained to preform
operations that pose huge treats to human life. They are ordered to run into burning buildings,
attack armed militia and even race across firefights. These animals don’t carry guns, or wear
bullet proof vests to protect themselves. They also have no choice about whether or not they
want to be there. They are just programmed to perform the duties they are ordered to perform.
Not to mention they do them with great precision. This great precision is huge factor into why
they are used in the first place. These K9’s are fast, aggressive, great listeners, motivated,
attentive, adaptable and thrive under pressure. In fact, they have better and more sensitive senses
than humans. Moreover, their ability to take direction makes them very faithful and trust worthy.
Like in We3 they are thought of to be the perfect weapon. With a remarkable way of sensing
danger and distress these agile creatures are the perfect robot. The unfortunate part is that they
are not robots. Thus making them not perfect and revealing true human nature. While humans do
find dogs to be intelligible creatures that have the necessary skillset to work the dangerous tasks
humans dare not do; it reveals that humans value the dog’s innate abilities over their actual life.
Anthrozoologist, Hal Herzog writes about this paradox in his book, Some We Love, Some
We Hate, and Some We Eat. He doesn’t particularly write about the K9 unit, but he discusses
how contradictory the human animal relationship is. His observations help prove why humans
have no problem having a division of the armed forces devoted to exploiting the dogs
capabilities. While Herzog provides several examples of the human relationship with animals
that reveals huge contradictions; his most crucial example that relates to the K9 unit is his time
spent at the cock fighting rings. Similar to the dogs in the police, roosters are used for their
skillset. Cockfighting provides entertainment and profit for the fighters and audience. The
roosters are innately aggressive and trained do what they do best, which is fight. The cockers
brutally exploit these roosters to excessively wrestle to the point that they kill themselves.
Though behind all this the cockers claim that they really actually do love the roosters. This
relates to the K9 unit because like the roosters the dogs are exploited to do what they do best.
This exploitation and lack of humanity towards these creatures presents a giant paradox, because
it demonstrates that humans value the benefit the animal provides humans more than the
animal’s life.
This kind of selfish behavior is seen in the graphic novel We3 and can help interpret the
deeper implications of the human animal relationship. For example, in We3, like in today’s
society, the humans of the novel have manufactured animals to perform undesirable dangerous
tasks. Moreover the animals are reported to have simply “entertained for hours but often [are] to
hard to communicate with”. This is important because it explains why animals are so easily
expendable. The reason is simple, they can’t tell us how they feel. They don’t speak, and can’t
show clear evident empathy. Animals like the K9’s don’t have extended families that can
cognitively worry about them. Animals don’t share the simple characteristics that humans deem
“life” worthy. It is unfortunate but true. Animals, like We3 explains are very similar to robots.
Especially the animals in the work force, these animals are “living weapons”, the paradox in that
is that they are actually referred too as “living” and not just “weapons”. Humans are living
therefore it isn’t life that makes people care about a creature. Thus indicating that it must have
something to do with a living creature’s ability to communicate and have emotional influence on
others.
This influence is a huge factor in why animals in the armed forces are so expendable and
it is because their influence is only extended to how they benefit humans. Unlike the humans in
the armed forces that have families that care about them; the K9’s aren’t thought to have
families. They are as close to robots as the police and army can get. Moreover, these animals
can’t have abstract casualties that humans can endure. Abstract casualties are considered the pain
and suffering friends and family feel when a family member dies. Animals like dogs don’t
noticeably share this characteristic. Thus it is easier to have a “throw the dogs in first” mentality
versus undesirably having John one of the guys in the militia with two kids and wife run into the
burning building, shooting terrorist to save a women and her cat. In this situation the cat will be
left behind*.
Though this reveals the human relationship with K9’s William F. Handy’s book provides
an understanding about the history of animal involvement in police work. It details the K9 corps
and the evolution of their existence within the armed forces. Moreover it provides information
about the boot camp style training it puts dogs through. Most importantly it highlights the dog’s
importance to human society and the ways in which the crime fighters have benefited from their
four legged partners.
Handy wrote this chapter about the use of dogs in police work and supports his claims
with interesting details. While it is an older book, its credibility isn’t diminished. Its credibility is
strengthened because of the parallels between today’s law enforcement affiliation with animals
and years prior. It also parallels certain fictitious works as discussed above. His book shows how
society has modified animals like they did in the graphic novel by Grant Morrison to benefit
humanity with little regard for terrestrial life other than human. Thus demonstrating humans true
feelings for animals and that is to improve human life, showing little regard for their “animal
life”. Thus this chapter helped immensely. Obviously, this book goes further into criminal law
and police science but it also adequately portrays life in the force for dogs. It demonstrates that
having a k-9 unit benefits the officers that “can’t perform certain functions that the dogs can”. It
also indirectly highlights the human and animal relationship and makes it very evident that
humans use animals as tools. Therefore concluding that life in the police force for the k-9 unit
isn’t velvet walls and soft carpet. Making it clear that We3 really isn’t exaggerating and that if
the animals could might rebel against their masters.
Some could make the argument that it isn’t fair for the animals to be exploited for their
skillset. Reason being these animals aren’t given a choice to be put into the armed forces they are
born into them. Unlike the humans in the police or army these animals haven’t enlisted. The dogs
are brainwashed into running into burning buildings, after villains and to do anything and
everything necessary to protect their partner. Their partner being a living human, likewise isn’t
instructed to do anything possible to protect their living animal partner. This argument is valid. It
is undesirable to be a dog in the police force. Dogs are meant to be companion animal’s not
human shields. They are meant to be loved and live in a warm house, with toys and the ambition
to be taken on walk every night. Dogs shouldn’t be bred to fight crime and risk their own life to
better human life, just because humans don’t want to have to encounter dangerous situations.
This is a human world, with human crime and human wars. Therefore it doesn’t make sense for
dogs to help fight the problems humans cause. This unfair parallel is seen in the real world and in
the novel We3, the novel consequently gives the animals a voice and has them rebel against the
humans. This novel reveals the implications of having animals do dangerous human dirty work,
and demonstrates how animals may feel about it.
The graphic novel We3 by Grant Morrison though a fictitious depiction of animals being
used as weapons similar to the way K9’s are used in the police and military, gives the animals
voice. Moreover it exaggerates the way animals might violently react if they could. While I do
care for animal life I share the same characteristic that the cockers and armed forces feel about
animals. Although animals, particularly the K9 unit, are used to preform undesirable tasks it is
because of the way humans admire their skillset and not value their life that makes them so
useful, yet expendable. This isn’t the nicest mindset, but human life to me is more precious than
animal, even if it involves animal death. It is only logical for me to favor my own specie over
another. It is this innate kinship humans have with each other that makes other “animal” life
appears to have less meaning. While the dogs in the military and police force don’t decide to be
there, it is better to risk their lives that frankly don’t mean as much to the development of
society, than human life. Humans have endless potential whereas a dog; barks, eats, sleeps and
poops. Oh and occasionally fights wars. Sure the best option would be to have drones that
perform the tasks that both animals and humans don’t want to perform. But this science hasn’t
been perfected. Unlike the training in the K9 unit that has been around for hundreds of years,
drones are new robot technology that is expensive and not proven to be effective. In the opposite
fashion dogs in the armed forces are a proven science and don’t cost anything to produce because
animals willingly mate with each other. Drones can’t mate.
All in all, while it isn’t desirable to have animals risk their lives in the battle fields, it is
less desirable to have humans risk their lives. Humans have families whereas dogs don’t appear
to cognitively worry about a significant other. Dogs don’t suffer abstract causalities and have
been used for over a hundred years as a K9 unit. They are proven technology and work well.
This contradictory belief about animal and human life is constantly written and talked about. Hal
Herzog explains it in his novel, Some We Love, Some We Hate, and Some We Eat; where he uses
roosters as the example. Moreover the graphic novel We3 exaggerates its claims as animals
being used as weapons and brings up an interesting point of animal rebellion. In conclusion,
humans admire certain animal’s skillsets, for example the very intelligible German Shepard’s
and selfishly do not value their life therefore making them so useful, yet expendable.
Works Cited
Herzog, Hal. Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's so Hard to Think
Straight about Animals. New York, NY: Harper, 2010. Print
Morrison, Grant, and Frank Quitely. WE3. New York: DC Comics, 2005. Print.