I came within a whisker of committing an indiscretion this week.
I saw a bandy-legged, thickset, jowly man who so resembled the British bulldog he was walking that I nearly asked him if I could take a picture.
There is research evidence that people tend to end up with dogs that look like them. If the broad features of a dog's face look something like our own, then, all else being equal, that breed should arouse more of a warm and familiar feeling in us. Even more, research shows that we expect some similarity – strangers match 60%-70% of dog owner pairs correctly.
I’m not making this stuff up: you can check the studies here, here, or here.
