Human's Emotions vs. Dogs (Re: Sirius revisited)

[Brenda M.]

No: HPFGUIDX 104218

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "potioncat" <willsonkmom at m...> 
wrote:
> Bren wrote:
> snipping good background info
>  
> > Going back to Dementors and how Sirius escaped them, he 
> > says "[Dementors] feel their way towards people by sensing their 
> > EMOTIONS
 they could tell that my feelings are less – LESS HUMAN, 
> > less complex when I was a dog" (PoA, 272. UK – emphasis mine). 
> Notice 
> > that Sirius says "less COMPLEX", not "my feelings are gone". 
> > Recalling the fact that emotions are attached to memory and 
> learning, 
> > I think it is implies that animals' feelings are less complex 
> because 
> > their abilities to store (new) memories and learning are not as 
> well-
> > developed as humans'. Dogs can't learn or obtain new information 
> as 
> > efficiently as humans, and therefore they have far more primitive 
> and 
> > basic range of emotions. 
> > 
> > Does this answer your question, Kneasy? Or have I confused you 
> even 
> > more? I'll be more than happy to elaborate on this if you like, 
> just 
> > let me know.
> > 
> 
> Potioncat responded:
> But an animagus is supposed to keep his "human self" (I don't 
recall 
> a good word for this) as opposed to someone who is transfigured 
into 
> an animal.  In that case the animal nature takes over.  So the 
> Animagus Black Dog should still have had human emotions.


Bren again:

Well... in my original post # 104209, I was merely answering Kneasy's 
question about how human (a self-regarding animal) and dog emotions 
are different. Normal dog that is.

As for Animagus-animals (AAs), I have no clue how it works. I don't 
think it's very clear from the books how Animagus Transfiguration 
actually works. But I always thought that AAs were more close to 
animals than humans. Possibly from Lupin's comment in PoA, 260, UK:

" 'They couldn't keep me comopany as humans, so they kept me company 
as animals,' said Lupin. 'A werewolf is only a danger to people' "

How is an Animagus different from someone who is transfigured into an 
animal? Isn't that the definition of Animagus? And what does it mean 
by "human self" exactly? Keeping one's thoughts/intelligence/memories 
intact when transforming -- does that qualify as "human self"?

I always imagined Padfoot!Sirius to be a black dog that is every bit 
of a dog, with Sirius' intelligence intact. Not the whole human 
Sirius in the body/form of a dog, but an actual dog with Sirius' 
brain. After all, animals in WW seem to have intelligence and some 
language skills. But Padfoot's emotional range -- I'm not too sure. I 
can sit here whack my brain on this, or simply take Sirius' words for 
it. We don't know how it works, but it does, and made it easier for 
Sirius to endure Azkaban.

I wonder if he meant 'it was easier to *hide* my emotions when I was 
a dog'?

Bren, who wishes she could keep Sirius as her pet!! And much more... 
*naughty* -- long weekend can do this to ya!