Boy hugs puppies. Need more information? Well then, puppies are great, but you already knew this. Kids are great? That’s a bit more debatable, but some children are quite alright, especially if they don’t spend their time screeching
One gray day in Grozny, Chechnya, a boy named Ibrahim made the world a little bit brighter, showing us how unconditional a child’s love could be. In a video posted by a neighbor from a nearby residential building, the boy is seen warmly hugging and petting a pair of stray dogs on the sidewalk.
He goes to leave, but turns back and rushes right back to the dogs for a second round of love-giving
He takes a few steps forward but soon turns back around. Standing still for a second in contemplation, he couldn’t help the pull from the dogs any longer and rushed straight back to them, hugging and caressing the four-legged friends.
The boy’s name is Ibrahim and, according to family friends, he’s the kindest boy and, yet, the caption of the video highlights our seemingly misplaced fear of dogs
However, the caption of the video that was shared highlighted an issue – the cruelty and indifference homeless animals face because of people’s fear of them.
According to Lisa Fritscher, cynophobia, or fear of dogs, is extremely common, although snake and spider phobias are even more prevalent, the average person is far more likely to encounter dogs in daily life.
Parents build the foundations of how their kids will act with animals and we can commend the boy’s family for doing a great job
Although parents might want to protect their children from unforeseen dangers, they shouldn’t forget that dogs are also friends.
Look, I’m no developmental or medical expert on this, but telling kids not to kiss, poke, jump on, or lick any animal should be good enough
One initiative calls for children to read to pets at shelters, as the kids can develop their skills without judgement and also provide company to the animals
There are a few initiatives that encourage spending time with animals by having children read to them, such as Jacksonville’s Humane Society’s “Pawsitive Reading”, a program designed to teach children how to read by doing it in front of four-legged friends. They state that “just listening to a person reading out loud has been proven to lower stress levels in animals.” How fascinating is that?
But it goes beyond that, as pups can sense whether you’re a good or bad person. Dogs notice specific things about humans that even we might not be aware of, such as a person looking away during a conversation, tensed muscles, sweating, and more. Pups use their keen sense of smell and great ability to read body language in order to help them decide how to react to people.
So to relate all that information to the story at present, both the stray pups and the child had gained a sense of comfort from one another, neither of them seeing the other as a threat. Whether that be from the good nature of the boy or the skills his parents have taught him relating to animals, one thing is for certain – it is hecking wholesome.