8 Heartmelting Facts That Prove Animals Love Us (& Each Other)
woman hugging a dog From elephants to lab rats, scientists are
learning more about emotional intelligence every day.  If you've
ever known the love of an animal, you know the feeling: It's
playing a game of fetch with your dog when you're happy or
cuddling with your cat when you're sad; it's the feeling of a
wet nose nuzzling your cheek or the sound of a concerned
whimper. It's looking into a pair of wide, empathetic eyes that
seem to understand you on a deeper level. If you're an animal
lover, you know this already to be true: animals are capable of
deep, unconditional love.  So admittedly, it was hardly a
surprise when this new scientific study proved what we've known
all along — animals are capable of great acts of love.  Paul
Zak, a professor at Claremont Graduate University in California,
conducted a series of behavioral experiments to measure the
levels of oxytocin — known as the "hormone of love" — released
when pets interacted with other