{getToc} $title={Table of Contents}
Happy Valentine everyone.
 |
| Even your favorite vet can’t resist spreading a little love! Dr. Blessing says Happy Valentine’s Day to all the pet parents out there. ❤️ |
Today I woke up and my single self knew it was Valentine’s Day.
But then I remembered what today is really about.
Love.
So I sat my pretty self down to compose this post for my blog, because if there’s one thing veterinarians know, it’s this:
Love is not scarce.
It just sometimes has four legs and fur. Sometimes, it arrives covered in fur, barking at 6 AM for breakfast.
And honestly? That counts.
So… let’s get into it.
What Is Valentine’s Day Really About?
At its core, Valentine’s Day is a celebration of affection - romantic, familial, friendly, and yes… even the slobbery kind.
But it didn’t begin with heart-shaped chocolates and overpriced dinner reservations.
It began in ancient Rome.
The Origin Story: Saints, Secrets and Sacrifice
The story most people know involves Saint Valentine, a priest in the 3rd century.
At the time, Roman Emperor Claudius II supposedly believed single men made better soldiers. So he banned young men from marrying.
Valentine secretly performed marriages anyway.
That bravery eventually cost him his life around AD 269 - 270.
But here’s where the historical fog rolls in.
We don’t actually have solid Roman records confirming that Claudius formally banned marriages.
And we don’t have firm documentation proving Valentine was uniquely defying such a decree.
In fact, early Christian sources mention more than one martyr named Valentine. Their stories may have blended over time, becoming one powerful symbol.
Early Church records mention at least two or three martyrs named Valentine in the 3rd century:
- A Priest in Rome
- A Bishop of Terni
- Possibly Another Martyr in North Africa
So was he the only one performing secret marriages? We don’t know.
Was the marriage-ban story later legend meant to highlight devotion and sacrifice? Possibly.
But here’s what history does confirm:
- There were Christian martyrs named Valentine.
- They were executed during Roman persecution.
- And by the late 5th century, February 14th was set aside to honor one of them.
Sometimes, history gives us hard data.
Sometimes, it gives us a story that carries emotional truth even if the paperwork is thin.
And in this case?
The legend of a man who chose love over fear was powerful enough to survive nearly 2,000 years.
Why February 14th?
 |
Priests of Ancient Rome celebrate Lupercalia at the foot of the Palatine Hill - a fertility and purification festival widely considered one of the earliest cultural roots behind modern Valentine’s Day traditions of love and pairing. |
The short answer: timing, symbolism, and a little historical strategy.
In AD 496, Pope Gelasius I officially declared February 14th as the Feast of Saint Valentine. Tradition holds that Saint Valentine was executed around that date in the 3rd century. Honouring him there made sense.
But here’s where things get interesting.
February in ancient Rome was already… busy.
Right around that same time, on February 15th, Romans celebrated Lupercalia, a festival that dates back to at least the 6th century BC.
And Lupercalia was not subtle.
It honoured fertility gods such as Faunus, and was linked symbolically to the legendary wolf that nursed Romulus and Remus. The festival began in a cave on Rome’s Palatine Hill, believed to be the wolf’s den.
Priests known as the Luperci would sacrifice goats (symbols of fertility) and a dog. They then cut strips from the goat hides (called februa), and ran through the streets lightly striking women who stepped forward willingly - because it was believed to promote fertility and safe childbirth.
Yes. That was considered normal.
Ancient Rome did not do “low-key.”
It was about health, cleansing, and reproduction.
Not romance.
Now, there’s no solid proof that Lupercalia directly turned into Valentine’s Day. But the overlap in timing and the shared themes of - fertility, pairing, and renewal - is hard to ignore. Historically, the Church sometimes placed Christian observances near existing festivals to gradually redirect public focus.
By the late 5th century, Pope Gelasius I condemned Lupercalia as incompatible with Christian values. The festival faded away.
February 14th remained.
Then along came Geoffrey Chaucer, who in 1382 wrote in Parlement of Foules that birds choose their mates on St. Valentine’s Day, and even though February isn’t really spring in England, that simple poetic idea caught on, inspiring people to link the day with romance, exchange love notes, and gradually turn a martyr’s feast into a celebration of love.
I can’t help but feel a quiet sense of surprise at how a long-standing local festival was gradually replaced by something that, at the time, must have felt entirely foreign to the people who once celebrated it.
Why It Still Exists Today
 |
| From lifelong swan partnerships to penguins that propose with pebbles, these animals redefine love and loyalty - proving Valentine’s Day isn’t just for humans. |
Because humans crave connection.
And traditions that celebrate connection tend to survive.
By the Middle Ages, people believed February was bird mating season. Poets began linking the date with romance. Humans, being humans, leaned into it enthusiastically.
Over centuries, it grew into a global celebration of love - romantic love, family love, friendship love, and yes…
Pet love.
But here’s something fascinating.
Valentine’s Day didn’t just survive because of history.
It was reinforced.
The rise of print culture in the 18th and 19th centuries made exchanging cards easier and more popular. By the 20th century, companies like Hallmark industrialised greeting cards, turning sentiment into a structured seasonal tradition.
Then came cinema.
Classic films like Casablanca, Roman Holiday, and later romantic blockbusters such as Titanic and The Notebook shaped cultural ideas of devotion, sacrifice, longing, and lifelong partnership. While these films aren’t “Valentine movies” in origin, they’ve become staples of February programming worldwide.
Television specials, streaming playlists, and themed premieres every February further reinforce the association between mid-February and romance.
And yes - formal social events have played their part too.
In Europe, especially from the Renaissance onward, masked balls and courtly gatherings often centred around courtship rituals. Even today, Valentine-themed dinners, charity galas, and formal dances - particularly in parts of Europe, North America, and Asia - continue the tradition of celebrating romance publicly.
Festivals like Japan’s modern Valentine’s chocolate-giving custom (which began in the 20th century as a marketing campaign by confectionery companies) show how commerce and culture intertwine to keep the tradition alive.
So Valentine’s Day didn’t just drift into modern relevance.
It was shaped by:
- Literature
- Film
- Advertising
- Social customs
- Public celebrations
- And global commerce
From handwritten letters to cinema screens to mass-produced cards, the message remained consistent:
Love matters.
Even in a world that moves fast and scrolls faster.
But, What does this have to do with a Animal Health blog?
When Love Has Whiskers: Pets and Valentine’s Day
Now here’s where things get interesting.
Pets don’t care about roses.
They don’t need a candlelit dinner.
But they absolutely understand attachment.
What Love Means to Your Pet
Have you ever noticed your dog staring at you like you personally invented happiness?
That’s not imagination. That’s biology.
Love to a dog?
- Security.
- Routine.
- Your smell.
- Your voice.
Love to a cat?
- Trust.
- Safe territory.
- The fact that they choose to sit next to you.
A famous study by researchers at University of Tokyo discovered that when dogs and their owners gaze at each other, both experience a rise in oxytocin - the same hormone responsible for bonding between mothers and babies.
Love, in animal language, looks like:
- Following you from room to room
- Sleeping near you
- Protecting you
- Trusting you
That’s chemistry.. Beautiful, measurable chemistry.
Why It Matters (Medically and Emotionally)
Strong human-animal bonds are linked to:
- Reduced stress
- Lower blood pressure
- Improved mental wellbeing
- Better social development in children
In veterinary medicine, we see it daily.
Love, in this context, literally saves lives.
How To Celebrate Valentine’s Day With Your Pet
No pink tutus required (unless your pet enjoys that).
Here are vet-approved ways to celebrate:
- Go on an Adventure Walk - New smells are like Netflix for dogs.
- Upgrade Their Meal - Add safe, vet-approved treats. Nothing toxic like chocolate, onions, grapes, or xylitol.
- Give Them Your Time - To pets, attention is the ultimate currency.
- Take a Valentine Photo Together - Memories matter. Even the blurry ones.
- Create a Calm, Safe Environment - Avoid candles, chocolates, and flowers like lilies (deadly for cats).
The goal isn’t extravagance.
It’s presence.
But, snice this is a Valentine post, lets discuss love as we know it.
The True Romantics of the Animal Kingdom
 |
| Swans don’t just look elegant - they choose one partner for life, showing us that true love can be graceful, enduring, and poetic. |
 |
| Wolves form powerful lifelong bonds, raising families, defending each other, and proving that love is strongest when built on loyalty and trust. |
Wolf pairs lead their packs together and raise pups as a team.
Love, but make it organized.
 |
| Albatrosses reunite year after year with the same partner, performing elaborate courtship dances that keep their lifelong love strong. |
These seabirds travel thousands of kilometers but return to the exact same partner each breeding season.
Almost no ghosting… unless climate stress, breeding failure, or an ambitious intruder rewrites the script.
 |
| Penguins choose one partner and stay fiercely loyal - walking miles, braving harsh winters, and proving that true love doesn’t need words. |
Not all species mate for life, but long-term pair bonding is well documented in these.
Unusual Documented Animal Friendships (Yes, With Evidence)
If you’ve ever watched Rio 2 and laughed at Gabi - the tiny pink poison dart frog hopelessly in love with Nigel the villainous cockatoo - you might think cross-species romance belongs strictly in animation.
Plot twist.
Real life has been quietly outdoing Hollywood for years.
Sometimes, love breaks biology’s rules.
And science occasionally gifts us stories that sound fictional… but come with field notes, peer-reviewed papers, and very serious researchers holding clipboards.
1. Take Owen and Mzee (The Hippo and The Tortoise).
 |
| Proof that love, loyalty, and emotional connection don’t care about age or species. |
After the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, a baby hippo named Owen was swept away from his pod and rescued to a sanctuary in Mombasa, Kenya. Alone. Traumatized. In desperate need of something solid and safe.
Enter Mzee - a 130-year-old Aldabra giant tortoise who, by personality profile, should have preferred solitude and slow afternoons.
Owen didn’t care.
He chose Mzee.
They slept together. Ate together. Swam together. The hippo followed the tortoise like an oversized shadow. And eventually, Mzee began returning the affection - nuzzling back.
Documented. Observed. Studied.
2. Then there are elephants - the emotional professors of the savannah.
 |
| elephant herds are led by wise matriarchs, and family bonds can last a lifetime |
At Amboseli National Park, researchers like Cynthia Moss have recorded elephants protecting injured animals outside their species - even attempting to help animals stuck in mud.
Elephants possess specialized brain cells called spindle cells, associated with empathy and complex social processing. Their “circle of concern” can expand beyond their family.
And the stories keep coming.
3. In Samburu, Kenya, a wild lioness named Kamunyak adopted baby oryx - animals she was biologically designed to hunt. She guarded them. Slept beside them. Escorted them back to nurse.
 |
| lioness stunned the world by adopting a vulnerable baby oryx instead of hunting it |
Maternal instinct overrode predator instinct.
4. In California, Koko adopted a kitten named All Ball at The Gorilla Foundation. She carried him gently. Tried to nurse him. When he died, she signed “sad” and “cry” and visibly grieved.
 |
| Koko formed a deep bond with her kitten All Ball - showing the world that empathy, grief, and love are not uniquely human traits. |
5. At a sanctuary in Tennessee, an elephant named Tarra stood outside a clinic gate for weeks while her injured dog companion Bella recovered.
 |
| Tarra the elephant and Bella the dog formed an extraordinary friendship |
6. And in modern zoos? Cheetahs - notoriously anxious - are paired with Labrador retrievers. The calm dog teaches the cheetah emotional regulation. The cheetah watches the dog for cues.
 |
| Labrador Retrievers are raised alongside cheetahs to help reduce anxiety and build confidence |
Imagine that.
A predator learning peace from a golden retriever.
Why does this happen?
Scientists suggest a few things:
- Social deprivation after trauma can push animals to seek the nearest safe companion.
- Oxytocin - the bonding hormone, isn’t exclusive to humans.
- In sanctuaries, where survival pressure is reduced, animals have the “emotional bandwidth” to explore unconventional bonds.
- Early-life imprinting can permanently shape who an animal sees as safe.
Researchers often use terms like interspecific sociality or reciprocal altruism.
But to the lay observer?
It looks suspiciously like compassion.
Proof that in the animal kingdom, attachment isn’t always about reproduction.
And occasionally, a hippo deciding a 130-year-old tortoise is now his emotional support parent.
Nature, it seems, has a softer side and science has the receipts.
Not Everyone Is Built for Forever
Now let’s not romanticize nature too much.
Many species do not stay together long term.
1. Lions: Males may change pride membership.
Male lions mate with multiple females. Females may also mate with multiple males.
No exclusivity contracts here.
3. Domestic cats: Mostly solitary.
Cats are independent romantics. They bond socially, but mating is rarely lifelong.
So, What Is Love, Really?
In humans: emotional, cultural, poetic.
In animals: bonding behavior supported by neurochemistry and evolutionary advantage.
In pets: safety, attachment, trust.
Love is less about roses.
More about reliable presence.
Final Thoughts From Your Friendly Vet
This Valentine’s Day, whether you’re:
- In a romantic relationship
- Blissfully single
- Married to your career
- Or cohabiting with three dogs and a judgmental cat
Remember:
Love is not limited to candlelight dinners.
But absolutely shows it.
So if today feels loud and commercial, step outside.
Sit with your pet.
Feel the heartbeat.
That’s Valentine’s Day too.
Happy Valentine’s Day, Vortexians.
Check out previous post - Erysipeloid
