The Trump administration has gone to the dogs–in more ways than one. It’s well known that Trump doesn’t hold “man’s best friend” in high regard, and a trend is emerging where dogs have become unwitting pawns and casualties in the war over empathy.

Trump is the first President since Andrew Johnson to not have a canine companion or other pet in the White House and has deployed the term “dog” to demean women he dislikes or finds unattractive. In the 2024 campaign, Trump repeated the racist, thoroughly debunked lie that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were killing pet dogs and cats for food.

Then there’s Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who confessed to shooting her dog–a Wirehaired Pointer named Cricket–because it was “untrainable.” If these slanders and cruel actions are any indication, MAGA’s America is a rough (or ruff) place to be a dog.

Most recently, it was reported that adjudicated sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has been given access to a puppy, just one of the bewildering perks she’s been afforded since her abrupt move to a “Club Fed” facility in Texas.

Maxwell’s move and preferential treatment has raised eyebrows regarding leverage she may have in the ongoing Epstein scandal. The puppy in question was a service dog in training, and Maxwell’s access was later blocked. But organizations like Canine Companions have stated that they do not allow individuals convicted of crimes involving abuse toward minors or animals to participate in their service dog training programs.

The link to empathy is inherent to the special bond between humans and dogs, one that goes back as much as 100,000 years. Dogs serve as our companions and assistants at work and at home, offering unique intelligence, loyalty, and unconditional love–qualities that resonate with empathy. But with MAGA leaders reframing empathy as “toxic” and even “suicidal,” its value undermined on a daily basis by the Trump administration, the world is becoming a darker, more dangerous place for all of us.

Dogs are capable of great things. They’ve been sent into space, help find victims of earthquakes and other natural disasters, expertly herd livestock, aid hunters and law enforcement, and stave off loneliness for millions. But they can’t speak for themselves (per se). They can’t sniff out sex offenders and don’t discriminate between humans based on their country of origin or immigration status.

Meanwhile, we humans are supposed to have moral and ethical compasses and other uniquely humane virtues–ones that seem to be eroding in our current political climate. Whatever our political leanings, dogs offer abundant lessons of loyalty, resilience, and empathy that can help unite us. To ignore those lessons and choose to make dogs slavish symbols and victims of abuse is uniquely human cruelty.

Dogs do so much to help make America great. We owe it to them to leave them out of our divisive, partisan politics.

Eric Jackson-Forsberg is a Jamestown resident.