Do Animals Feel Emotions?

If you have a pet, like a cat or dog or hamster, you have probably wondered what is going on in its head. Scientists are curious as well, but animal emotions are difficult to study. We observe that animals wag their tails, flatten their ears, or even grin. These all seem to indicate an animal’s response to its circumstances, but it is difficult to tell exactly what animals experience.

We have to be careful not to assume animals experience the world the same way that we do. What we do know is that God created animals to be under the care and dominion of people (Genesis 1:26). We also know that God cares about animals, provides for them (Matthew 6:26), and commands us to care about our animals as well (Deuteronomy 25:4; Proverbs 12:10). The many different responses of animals to different things makes it clear they are not robots, although many of their behaviors are governed by instinct. A dog or kitten that is scared by a thunderstorm gives us the opportunity to use our God-given dominion to care for and comfort them. A playful rabbit can bring joy to our day and remind us of God’s goodness.

God has given us dominion over the animals. Unlike them, we are made in God’s image to have a personal relationship with him. But animals also have a special role in God’s creation: doing exactly what he created them to do!

As you play fetch with your dog or stroke a horse’s mane, appreciate the way that God allows us to relate to animals when we interact with them!

Here to Serve

You have probably heard of people helping animals, but what about animals helping people? Service animals are specially trained creatures that help people who are disabled in their daily lives and can provide healing to people who have gone through difficult experiences such as war or trauma. If you ever see an animal with a special vest on, don’t pet it! The animal is working, and you don’t want to distract it from its job.

Do you have a question about God’s Word or his world that you want us to answer? Is there a topic you want to learn more about? Ask your parents to help you submit your question today. Watch for our answer here on the blog or in Kids Answers magazine. We’d love to hear from you!