Live long & prosper

Published on 16 April 2024

By Jason Light

Picture of dogs in Star Trek uniforms

I’m a mahoosive geek, so much so that one of the many stories of the genesis of Bobs name is the line “Hi Bob” from the space show we were watching when the Dogs Trust called about adopting her…unfortunately for Nat it was my turn to pick the name.

Whilst I can’t work out if my love of SciFi led to or is a result of my passion for science and sustainability, they certainly complement each other and this absolutely shaped the shows I enjoy but more importantly me as a person.

My all time favourite show is Star Trek, mainly due to the utopic vision and motivations of the main characters who aspire for peace and to expand thier knowledge. Don’t get me wrong, I love Star Wars, but in my view the treatment of non-humaniod animals across the films and shows isn’t great, perhaps a reflection of the more dystopic nature of this particular universe.

But this week as I was watching the latest iteration of Star Trek it struck me…why doesn’t anyone live with a dog in this futuristic utopia?

Picture of Kirk, Spock and Bones with a canine from the planet Alfa 177 on the Original Star Trek series.

We often talk about the science of dog training, so to me I think it’s interesting to reflect how dogs are treated on a SciFi show which prides itself (with artistic licence) in reflecting the latest scientific understanding at the time of airing and quite often ahead of the science. After all, Virtual Reality (hollow deck), Mobile Phones (communicator), Video calls, Automatic doors, and in 2024 simultaneous translators were features of Star Trek long before they became a reality in the real world.

The Original Series of Star Trek aired in the 60’s around a decade after Laikia became the first large mammal in space and from memory of the re-runs (I’m not that old) I think non-humans were treated not too dissimilar on the show to that poor Soviet space dog.

As we moved into the 90’s, things developed, with a huge amount of the the then show dedicated to ethical discussions about sentience of the robot “data” which to me was clearly a metaphor for all species. One of the characters in that Patrick Stewart’s series did developed a friendship with a dog, but even then they turned out to be the host to a body-snatching murderous alien organism.

Picture of Geordie with a friend and her dog from Star Trek The next generation.

Now there have been several dogs in Star Trek, but most have just featured in flashbacks to earth and I don’t think they are ever seen enjoying themselves sat in the captains chair.

There may be one very good reason for this lack of compainon animals, the “universal translator". This futuristic technology allows you to speak with pretty much any species, presumably dogs included. I’m sure that everyone has asked themselves what would they be saying to us if they could, this would undoubtedly change our relationship with them.

I talk to the dogs in my life all the time and frequently wonder what they think i’m saying to them… most of the time I then realise then come to the conclusion that they are pretty special and can understand full English, but its just me who can’t understand them.

In another parallel, around the same time as the Five Freedoms were being considered for Animals in the 60’s, Spock and Kirk discussed the “Prime Directive”, a commitment to stay within the culture and not interfere with the development of another species. It’s no surprise then that as more protections came in for animals in the UK, the 90’s show centred on the Prime Directive. Whilst this Directive doesn’t stop intervention to avoid harm, wouldn’t it be good if everyone in our world was required to fully consider the implications and was held to account for how they interact with other species.

It’s unsurprising to me at least that Vulcans, the most purely ethics led lifeforms in this futuristic vision are said to all be vegan. But even the most masculine of species, the famously violence loving Klingons would probably consider some peoples approach to training defenceless dogs “dishonourable”.

Picture of Booker with his companion Cat called Grudge from Star Trek Discovery

As we moved into the 21st Century, the most recent Star Trek show includes as a character called Booker who is empathic to all animals and lives with a cat who he poignantly describes as “a queen”. I suspect if Booker was a character in the 60’s he would just be a space pirate, but not now, he was introduced whilst on a personal mission to travel the stars returning kidnapped animals back to their home worlds.

This shift in real world societal norms has also led to changes in Star Wars, with Chewie deciding not to dine on some Porgs in one of the most recent films. Popular culture, from shows like Star Trek, Star Wars and Dr Who have moved with the science.

So when you despair about people gaining notoriety on social media using un-scientific methods, remember there are billions of people like me learning, growing up and shaping their ideals with popular culture right across the board shifting towards a more positive relationship with non-human animals. In the Star Trek universe it took us 200 years to get to Kirks world and over a 1000 to Booker’s, but whilst it may not be as fast as you may like our society has moved a long way in less than 60 years.

I wouldn’t be surprised to hear Spock say it would be “illogical” for humans to “keep” other animals as pets. But I do feel that Bob, Fish and the rest of our gang would still want to hang out with us even if we were galavanting about on space ships.

So to everyone in the dog sector I say to you.. “Live long and prosper”.