<< "Take me to your leader" (courtesy of jcdprints)

If you know me well, you'll know I have a weakness for puppies. Its like kryptonite. I think everyone should grow up with a dog. It helps one to become a well-adjusted individual. I'm pretty much an all around animal lover, but I definitely attribute dogs, especially when they're little, with what makes the best in having a pet really shine.

Yes, no one really expects this. Me, a strapping young man with a big macho beard, a guy who spends his free time doing punching and kicking and flipping around, swinging swords and breaking boards.

Except that I trim it to whatever is popular in Japan right now, and the martial arts I do is flashy and completely useless in a real fight as are my floppy spring steel swords, and having just disclaimed myself as anything even remotely macho, this means, yes, I really do like puppies for puppies, and no, I'm not some douchey guy who just says so to get girls to warm up to him. And to guys like you, for shame. You're a few degrees off from using roofies. Here's why.

Puppy dog eyes can increase levels of oxytocin. One part of this hormone triggers "maternal instincts" and "bonding" when it is produced, and apparently, according to this article, playtime with pups can actually trigger oxytocin production, instinctively causing humans to bond and trust their dogs, leading to the stress relieving effect that advocates of pup-therapy espouse as their most theraputic and healthy trait.

In conclusion, dogs are drugs. They express hypnotic suggestion through their big dark puppy dog eyes that make your brain secret hormones that make you think you're relaxed. Just kidding. Really, think about it.

It's cute. Furry. It's always happy to see you. It wants nothing more to play with you, and it will listen to you whenever you need a big floppy ear. Man's best friend indeed.

Here's some awesome sites that I peruse from time to time to get my pup fix.

http://www.cuteoverload.com
This site has a great selection of other great animal pictures in other categories, but I visit the pups one the most.

http://ihasahotdog.com
Following in the traditions of lolcats comes the premiere loldog site on the internet.

http://www.dailypuppy.com
For enthusiasts who just want to click through picture after picture.

Enjoy!

*I'm trying to write shorter posts. Woe unto my poor readership that has to suffer through text walls, but unfortunately I cannot do pups justice for today.