Why do dogs love us so much? Would any other animal do this for us?

I read a story about a half Golden Retriever/Kelpie (Australian breed). Her owner's home caught fire, and she ran inside, and dragged the two young children out, without hesitation. Why are dogs like this? Why do they love us that much?

;-; because... dogs love us ;-;

Dogs are pack animals, and thus they do what is best for their pack, the leader being his owner, and the children the puppies, they accept you as they would accept their own. Yes some other animals are also so lowing, birds are extremely emotional and so are horses.

Some dogs are more loyal than others because of their stronger pack instincts. To live is to stay in a pack, and to die is to leave the pack. When a human or family keeps a dog and looks after it, it develops a tie to their human pack. They trust you with their life and would give it up to protect you. They know that you care for them and love them too, just like a pack leader would. And perhaps dogs just have characteristics of love, loyalty, and protectiveness, just like other animals have characteristics of aggression and possessiveness. Hippos, for example, are herbivores, but they are very aggressive, territorial creatures. It's in their natures.

because jamie dogs are the most loyalist of the animal world.there love is unconditional.that is why a dog is said to be mans best friend.a dog can be very much a very loved family member,they give us years (hopefully) of friendship,loyalty,love,companionship,not to mention lots of lovely memories after they pass away.that is why some people when they lose a beloved dog,it is really like losing a member of their family.and this is because of the beautiful attributes that a dog would have.

Its NOT love, its pack instinct and survival. EVERYTHING a dog does its out of its OWN interest. Dogs are the most selfish animals on the planet, but, people in here will mix THEIR own emotions and make a dog sound like a human. Its an animal, it thinks for its own skin and this can deep and long, but, for your info, its not love. Hope I helped.

Recent (and more accurate) studies have shown that dogs thrive in a family unit. Even their wild counterparts live in small family units. The "pack" theory was brought forth after a study was done putting together animals who were strangers, similar age, etc., so the whole hierarchy belief has been based off this artificially created study some 50+ years ago. It makes sense if a bunch of strangers of breeding age are thrown together, squabbles will happen for who gets to be in charge, etc. (I would expect the same from humans). This doesn't happen in a family unit as the roles are clearly defined.Dogs love their humans as much as a child loves their parent. It's an equivalent role. The difference being that where a toddler doubtfully would have the strength to pull their mother to safety, a dog might. A dogs love goes beyond physical features, status, income and lifestyle. Dogs love the soul of their human; the essence, the being. Pretty spectacular!

A dog thinks, behaves and perceives the world around it like the species and lacks the ability for higher cognitive processes to make a conscious decision to love a human because of the qualities they admire and despite their flaws. However in my opinion a dog had the capacity to form a strong attachment to its human/s and it is a combination of instinct driven behavior and the extent to which the individual character of dog clicks with its human/pack. Dogs were domesticated to work for humans in various capacities so are able to be of use on a daily basis in work or as a companion and/or hobby dog [getting out the house for exercise/social aspect to meet other people] in a way other species can’t.