Angel eyes

Look into his angel eyes;
One look and you're hypnotized.
He'll take your heart
And you must pay the price.

Look into his angel eyes;
You'll think you're in paradise,
And one day you'll find out he wears a disguise.
Don't look too deep into those angel eyes;
Oh, no, no, no, no.

~ ABBA

Just by gazing at their owners, dogs can trigger a response in their masters' brains that helps them bond, a study says.

And owners can do a similar trick in return, researchers found.

This two-way street evidently began when dogs were domesticated long ago, because it helped the two species connect, the Japanese researchers say.

The brain response is an increase in levels of a hormone called oxytocin. Studies in people and animals indicate this substance promotes social bonding, such as between parent and infant or between two lovers.

Source: Chicago Tribune 

Damien's note: A decade or so back, I participated in a communications workshop with some colleagues. In one exercise, we were paired off and told to have a conversation. The idea was to talk about something harmless (the weather) while communicating something else by tone of voice and body language. The guy I was with was a casual friend, part of a group I hung out with at work. We talked about the weather, but he looked into my eyes and did not break eye contact for the entire time -- just a few minutes. I got tongue-tied, blushed and laughed and could not continue. By the time the exercise was over, I had a ferocious crush on him. 

This became a source of great amusement among our circle. For a few months after that, he would start staring at me across a table and it would inevitably make me blush.

I stood up for him when he and his husband married a few years later, and we are still in touch. The magic of his angel eyes wore off and I met Daniel and have other eyes to look into today. But the ABBA song always makes me think of him.

And a warning to those who find someone with angel eyes -- that may just be the oxytocin talking and he/she may actually just be a dog in disguise.