Science Bites Man With Unneeded Study

Re “The Master and His Human,” editorial, Nov. 25: It’s always comforting to have the science community reassure us nonscientists what we’ve suspected for 10,000 years: Dogs like to please us! Although I have no idea what organization funded this project, if it involved my tax money, I’m all for it. Just as I was thrilled to find out several years ago, by virtue of then-Sen. William Proxmire’s (D-Wis.) “golden fleece” awards, that my tax money had gone to a group researching the enigma surrounding the reasons why convicts sometimes try to escape or, my personal favorite, an organization dedicated to developing a less flatulent bean.

Timothy Burns

Los Angeles