Q: “Do animals get mental illnesses, just like humans? Or is your dog just dumb?”

A: Gawker’s Hey Science fields this one out to a few experts - a vet behaviorist, a Prof. of vet biosciences, vet neurologist and emergency vet all give an answer… and here’s the rub:

Animals do suffer from mental illnesses. Caveats: 1) not necessarily the same mental illnesses as humans, and 2) diagnosis of animal mental illness is based on animal behavior, a trickier task than the diagnosis of mental illness in humans. If you want to get your pet’s mental illness diagnosed, go to a certified veterinary behaviorist, not a bullshit “pet psychologist.”  [via, IMG]