James and Dante seem to look alike — at least in some aspects. James has long, dark hair and so does Dante. Dante has long, floppy ears and James, well, he says he had to "grow into" his ears when he was younger.

It's not unheard of for two close friends such as James and Dante, who live together, relax together and watch TV together, to look alike. But James and Dante are slightly different — Dante is James' dog.

To James Hopkins, Overland Park senior, Dante, a 3-year-old beagle, is not just his dog but his best friend. The pair share similar traits and characteristics and sometimes Hopkins even wonders if they could be related.

Hopkins is not alone in his love and apparent similarities to his dog. In fact, research shows many pet owners do in fact look like their beloved canines.

Nicholas Christenfeld, professor of psychology at the University of California, San Diego, conducted a study on the subject in 2004. Christenfeld says he and a team of other researchers went to a local park and asked 25 people with dogs to pose for individual snapshots. The researchers separated the pictures of the owners and the pictures of the dogs and scrambled them up so no one could identify which dog belonged to whom. Once scrambled, student volunteers were asked to match the photo of the dog with the photo of the person they guessed owned the dog. The majority of the volunteers were able to match up the correct owner with the correct pet.

Christenfeld says it was much easier for the volunteers to determine their guess of ownership when the dogs were purebreds. He says mixed-breed dogs were harder to identify because their owners often don't pick them specifically for their breed.

“People do not think to themselves, I need a mutt,” Christenfeld says. “Instead they usually search for a pet that they ideally have in mind.”

Even though the purebreds were easier to determine, some of the mixed-breeds were still paired with the right owner. Christenfeld says the result of the study shows the psychological basis for pet-owner similarities — when people pick their pets, they find one that in some way resembles them.

Hopkins and Dante are an example of this phenomenon. And though the the study was based on looks alone, Hopkins believes they have very similar personalities as well.

“Dante is very sociable,” Hopkins says. “He loves hanging out with new people, kind of like me.”

Along with Hopkins, Lauren Haskin, Leawood senior, believes that her little puppy Bogart, a “Peekapoo” or Peekanese poodle, could have some resemblance to her. As Bogart rests in Haskin’s lap in a bright blue KU jersey, the resemblance is pretty apparent. Haskin explains that even though Bogart is like a “little white cotton ball,” he shares a lot of the same facial expressions as her. She says one can tell by just looking at him whether he is happy or uncomfortable, and if he likes or doesn’t like somebody. Like Haskin, Bogart has curly hair with big brown eyes to match.

“Bogart is also up for trying new things, and is always looking for new things to do,” Haskin says. “It is a lot like me. I feel like I have a little mini-me.”

Although some may completely agree with the concept, other dog owners remain a bit skeptical. Aric Schultz, Santana senior, says that his feelings about his resemblance to his dog are neutral. He is not sure that he and his yellow lab, Midus, actually look that much like. Schultz agrees that Midus is medium height and likes to smile, much like himself, but does not see much beyond that. Schultz says that as far as looks go, there’s really not much of a striking resemblance.

But, the real question is, “Why do we want to buy dogs that look like us?” Do we really love ourselves so much that we need to have little pooches who worship us now look like us? Well, not really.

The real reason, Christenfeld says, is that pets actually co-opt parenting urges. That is, people naturally are inclined to nurture and take care of a child. Pets are brought into a person’s life to be taken care of, nurtured, fed and taught obedience, much like children. Looking like you, Christenfeld says, is a further resemblance to feeling like you own your own kid, thus driving a linkage between you and your pet.

So, thinking about buying a dog? If you’re a tall blonde, you may want to go buy a lab. If you are short with curly black hair, a toy poodle may suit you well. And if you are a giant with short hair and a long nose, a Great Dane may be up your ally. Regardless, if you’re thinking about buying a dog, go take a good hard look in the mirror.