Sixth Sense #7: Depression

Dogs are known to comfort their humans during times of sadness or permanent hardship. Often, they will observe a person from across the room, and come over after a while, and lie down near the person. Many dogs will also try to lick away their humans’ tears.

Researchers at the University of London found that dogs in fact were more inclined to approach a crying person, than someone who was simply talking or humming. They noticed that these dogs responded to sadness with submissive behaviors.

The fact that they could distinguish humming from crying proved that sounds related with sadness somehow carried a greater emotional weight and meaning for the dogs. And though there is no hard science telling us that dogs experience empathy, we certainly believe that their ability to single out emotions proves that they are aware of sadness.