When we first received this question, it seemed a bit silly, but after pondering it, it became quite intriguing. Why can’t dogs and other creatures speak? Wouldn’t it enhance our sojourn here on earth if they could?

By many, dogs are considered “man’s best friend.” There are nearly 90 million dogs in the United States. Dogs have some very distasteful habits; they are expensive to buy, feed, and keep, but we love them. Dogs are not judgmental and treat us as though we are important, no matter our social standing, net worth, jail record, or bad habits. Wouldn’t it enhance our relationship with dogs if we could converse with them? And how about bluebirds, rattlesnakes, dolphins, or elephants? They all see life through a different lens. Wouldn’t it broaden our knowledge to know their thoughts and life experiences?

Dogs have all the necessary DNA to build human-like larynxes, and dogs are sufficiently intelligent to converse with us. But, yet, they cannot. Why not?

The Bible gives us an excellent reason why animals should not dialogue with us. In the beginning, there was an animal called the “serpent,” which talked with Eve. The conversation did not go well. And, as a result, sin entered the world, cursing it and us. Whoa! Too bad the serpent could speak. Imagine if we could talk with wolves, mosquitoes, spiders, grizzly bears, and killer whales. What kind of sin would we learn from them?

There is one more Biblical account of an animal talking with a human. It is the account of Balaam and his donkey (Numbers 22:21-39). Balaam did wrong in the eyes of God, so God sent an angel to kill Balaam, but when Balaam’s donkey saw the angel with a drawn sword, the donkey turned aside to avoid the angel. Since Balaam did not see the angel, Balaam interpreted his donkey’s reaction as disobedience and beat him. This was repeated a second and third time. After the third beating, the Lord “opened the donkey’s mouth,” and the donkey gave Balaam a reproach. The Bible gives us a direct quote from the donkey’s mouth in the book of Numbers:

Numbers 22:28 Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”
Numbers 22:29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.”
Numbers 22:30 And the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?” And he said, “No.”
Numbers 22:31 Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face.
Numbers 22:32 And the angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me.
Numbers 22:33 The donkey saw me and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let her live.”
Numbers 22:34 Then Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now, therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.”
Numbers 22:35 And the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only the word that I tell you.” So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak. (Bible – ESV)

So, the donkey did well; he is the hero of this account. Think about this: the donkey saved Balaam’s life and changed God’s purpose. God intended to kill Balaam, but the donkey prevented it. Here is one example of possible benefits from conversing with animals. But, in general, God prevents direct conversation with animals. Why?

A donkey has a brain one third the size of a human. An elephant has a brain more than four times larger than we humans, and the whale brain is bigger yet. Imagine what would happen if animals could routinely converse with us; things would change. It could ruin our having dominion over the animals, and we humans would no longer be special. Maybe the elephants and the whales would seize intellectual prowess. Perhaps humanity would be bombarded with too much information, much of which could be misinformation.

Also, the donkey had a visual connection to the spiritual world. The donkey could see the angel, whereas Balaam and his two servants could not. Do all animals have this ability? Maybe. If so, this is another potential problem. God wants us to connect with the spiritual world through Him. He does not want us to contact the spiritual world through mediums, fortune tellers, serpents, donkeys, or chickadees. God has given us the Holy Spirit to be our connection with the spiritual world, and any other source could mislead us.

Returning to dogs, consider having a hard day at your job, coming home, and looking forward to having a peaceful evening. Your spouse tells you the children are doing poorly in school, the dishwasher broke, and there were huge bills in the mail. You just want some peace and quiet, So, you go and sit in the back yard with your dog, Fido. Then Fido starts to complain about his day: tormented by the neighbor’s cat, not liking his food, wanting to go for more walks, upset that you took away his dead squirrel he rolls in, and wanting to visit his girlfriend on the next block. Would this conversation enhance your lifestyle? What if the bluebird wanted a better feeder? What if the snake reasoned that he wanted to spend the winter in your basement? How would you like to work in a meatpacking plant if the steers could talk? Etc. Etc. I am convinced that the optimum relationship with animals is the status quo.

In summary, there may be some advantages to talking with animals, but the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. If dogs and other animals could talk, I suggest that there could be several problems:

1. Our relationship with the animals would deteriorate.

2. We humans would have added outlets and temptations to sin.

3. God has decreed that we are created in His image and have dominance over all other creatures. The inability to talk with animals assures our dominance.

4. It would give us a channel to the spiritual world that could be detrimental. God has put us here to be isolated from a direct channel to the spiritual world. He wants us to live by faith and get our direction and teaching from the Bible as revealed by His Holy Spirit, not a dog, donkey, or chickadee.

Things are the way they are because the divine creation is perfectly suited for our nature and nurture.