If there's one thing that separates us human beings from the rest of the animals, it's the ability to think rationally about situations larger than ourselves. By that, I don't just mean that we are capable of abstract thought; in fact, loads of animals are able to imagine objects and plan ahead, not just us. No, I'm talking about our ability to rationalise situations that don't affect us directly and make decisions accordingly - like choosing to give money to charity, for instance, or perhaps living a vegan lifestyle for the sake of our fellow animal inhabitants of the world.

We often act against our instincts and, indeed, against our best interests, because we know that - rationally - it is the best thing to do for the greater good. No other animal does this to the extent that humans do. Not even our faithful friend, the dog. This was put to the test recently. when one woman who claimed her dog was voluntarily vegetarian appeared on the ITV show, This Morning, with her pet pooch, Storm.

Lucy Carrington - who is not a vegetarian herself - had been feeding her pooch on a meat-free diet over the past few months ever since she went off her food, and believed that she genuinely preferred vegetable alternatives to meat.

"During the summer months she just went off her food, strangely," she said. "I’m certainly not one of those, I’m not vegetarian I’m not a vegan, far from it, though I’ve reduced my meat consumption."

In order to test the valid of Carrington's claims, the hosts of This Morning decided to set up a simple experiment. They put out two bowls: one filled with delicious vegetables, and the other with conventional, meaty dog food.

"You say dogs can’t make the choice, but on this programme they can make the choice," the host said, at which point, Storm was allowed to go and snack on whichever food she wanted.

And, unsurprisingly, she went straight for the meaty treat.

The hosts, Carrington, and a vet that had been advising on dog diets all began laughing when Storm made her decision - but her owner was obviously a bit put-out.

Needless to say, everyone on Twitter found the incident utterly hilarious.

However, other people took to social media to remind people that depriving their pets of their proper diets is a form of animal cruelty.

"That poor dog storm is loving the meat and the owner just feeds [her] a veggie diet but unfair on the dog I think," said one person.

"Animal cruelty again but this time against the dog owner for keeping her dog vegetarian," added another.

While it's true that dogs can survive on a vegetarian diet, they have a natural preference for meat, and owners should strive to feed their pets the appropriate food whenever possible.

Carrington conceded that her dog's taste for meat had evidently returned, and that she would resume feeding the pooch meat as soon as possible.

If there's one thing that separates us human beings from the rest of the animals, it's the ability to think rationally about situations larger than ourselves. By that, I don't just mean that we are capable of abstract thought; in fact, loads of animals are able to imagine objects and plan ahead, not just us. No, I'm talking about our ability to rationalise situations that don't affect us directly and make decisions accordingly - like choosing to give money to charity, for instance, or perhaps living a vegan lifestyle for the sake of our fellow animal inhabitants of the world.

We often act against our instincts and, indeed, against our best interests, because we know that - rationally - it is the best thing to do for the greater good. No other animal does this to the extent that humans do. Not even our faithful friend, the dog. This was put to the test recently. when one woman who claimed her dog was voluntarily vegetarian appeared on the ITV show, This Morning, with her pet pooch, Storm.

Lucy Carrington - who is not a vegetarian herself - had been feeding her pooch on a meat-free diet over the past few months ever since she went off her food, and believed that she genuinely preferred vegetable alternatives to meat.

"During the summer months she just went off her food, strangely," she said. "I’m certainly not one of those, I’m not vegetarian I’m not a vegan, far from it, though I’ve reduced my meat consumption."

In order to test the valid of Carrington's claims, the hosts of This Morning decided to set up a simple experiment. They put out two bowls: one filled with delicious vegetables, and the other with conventional, meaty dog food.

"You say dogs can’t make the choice, but on this programme they can make the choice," the host said, at which point, Storm was allowed to go and snack on whichever food she wanted.

And, unsurprisingly, she went straight for the meaty treat.

The hosts, Carrington, and a vet that had been advising on dog diets all began laughing when Storm made her decision - but her owner was obviously a bit put-out.

Needless to say, everyone on Twitter found the incident utterly hilarious.

However, other people took to social media to remind people that depriving their pets of their proper diets is a form of animal cruelty.

"That poor dog storm is loving the meat and the owner just feeds [her] a veggie diet but unfair on the dog I think," said one person.

"Animal cruelty again but this time against the dog owner for keeping her dog vegetarian," added another.

While it's true that dogs can survive on a vegetarian diet, they have a natural preference for meat, and owners should strive to feed their pets the appropriate food whenever possible.

Carrington conceded that her dog's taste for meat had evidently returned, and that she would resume feeding the pooch meat as soon as possible.