Proof Puppies Love Us As Much As We Love Them

    It's no longer wishful thinking, now it's ~science.~

    Rob Stott
    by Rob Stott

    BuzzFeed News Reporter, Australia

    Good news! Our puppies really really do love us!

    imgur / Via reddit.com

    It's all here in this study, which says that when a dog looks into its owner's eyes, it gets the same feelings of love that a baby does for its mother.

    It's thanks to a chemical called oxytocin, also known as the "love hormone."

    Imgur / Via reddit.com

    Oxytocin is released into the bloodstream after a mother gives birth and during breastfeeding.

    Via Flickr: openthreads

    It's also the same feeling you get when you look into a person's eyes and you're in loooooooove.

    And guess what?! Our puppies feel it too when they look into our eyes.

    Imgur / Via reddit.com

    It's all about evolution.

    Riley / Via Heidi Bokma

    The study, by Takefumi Kikusui from Azabu University in Japan found that because humans and dogs have been living together for so long, we've basically been evolving side-by-side.

    This means dogs and humans have independently acquired tolerance of one another thanks to changes in our brains. (Read: We love dogs and dogs love us)

    "Evolution is notoriously thrifty," wrote Evan MacLean and Brian Hare in Science. [The] findings suggest that dogs have taken advantage of our parental sensitivities—using behaviors such as staring into our eyes—to generate feelings of social reward and caretaking behaviour."

    That means these little fluff balls love you!

    Imgur / Via reddit.com

    This goofball loves you.

    Imgur / Via reddit.com

    This little fella thinks you're just wonderful.

    Imgur / Via reddit.com

    This guy thinks you're grrrrrreat!

    Via reddit.com

    And this dude wants to spend the rest of his life with you.

    Imgur / Via reddit.com