Over the many of thousands of years that man has domesticated dogs, the dogs have figured out how to read the moods and expressions of their humans. They have also figured out how to look at a human in a way that guarantees they get a bit of whatever you have.
....
I'm really not kidding. I think that's an evolutionary thing... or an adaptation I guess. You have to figure that since the early days of the domestication of wolves, the animals were smart enough to observe the characteristics of the humans and see what physical reactions resulted. They might have noticed a look on a human's face that we would term "sad", and then see what other humans do as a result of that person's look. Over the course of countless generations of dogs, selection would reinforce those skills of canine empathy.
Thousands of years later, our Wheaten, Riley, has an instinctual ability to look like he hasn't had a bite to eat in days, and he's so sad with hunger that if we just give him the tiniest taste of the ice cream, he'll be able to survive for another day.
I doubt he even knows he's doing it. It's been programmed into his genes, along with a myriad of other behaviors that make a dog an incredibly endearing companion.
Cats, on the other hand, are agents of Satan, and they use black magic to get what they want.
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