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Life With a Dog: You Meet People
As I approached four years as a widow, the loneliness of a
one-person household began to drag me down. Acquiring
a four-legged companion, rather than a two-legged one, appealed
to me.
And so, in February, I adopted a 5-month-old puppy, a
hypoallergenic Havanese small enough for me to pick up and carry,
even into my ninth decade, when I travel to visit family and friends.
While most dog owners I know encouraged my decision, several
dogless friends thought I had lost my mind. How, with all my work,
travels and cultural events, was I going to manage the care of a dog?
No one asked this when I decided to have children. In fact, few people consider in
advance how children will fit into their lives. If you want
a child badly enough, you make it work.
I am now making it work with Max II, little mischief that he is, and
I am besotted. He’s smart — smart enough to know when I really
must work and cannot spend time throwing a ball for him. As I
write this, he’s asleep on the floor at my side, although during
a phone interview two weeks ago, he managed to shred every
piece of paper he could grab in my study.
Yes, he’s a lot of work, at least at this age. But like a small child,
Max makes me laugh many times a day. That’s not unusual,
apparently: In a study of 95 people who kept “laughter logs,”
those who owned dogs laughed more often than cat owners and people who owned neither.
When I speak to Max, he looks at me lovingly and seems to
understand what I’m saying. When I open his crate each morning,
he greets me with unbounded enthusiasm.Likewise when I return
from a walk or swim, a day at the office, or an evening at the theater.
But perhaps the most interesting (and unpremeditated) benefit has
been the scores of people I’ve met on the street, both with and without
dogs, who stop to admire him and talk to me. Max has definitely
increased my interpersonal contacts and enhanced my social life.
People often thank me for letting them pet my dog. Max, in turn,
showers them with affection.
Prompted by my son, a fellow dog lover, to explore the health benefits
of pet ownership, I dug into the literature, focusing first on what
pets can do for older adults, then branching out to people in all age brackets.
More American households have dogs than any other type of nonhuman
companion. Studies of the health ramifications have strongly suggested
that pets, particularly dogs, can foster cardiovascular health, resistance
to stress, social connectivity and enhanced longevity.
The researcher Erika Friedmann, whose groundbreaking study in 1980 showed that, other factors being equal, people with pets were more
likely to be alive a year after discharge from a coronary care unit, said studies
meat and weighed more than those without pets. Other studies have
found that older people who walk dogs are more likely than those who
walk with human companions to engage in regular exercise and be physically fit.
Controlled studies by Dr. Friedmann, a professor at the University of Maryland
School of Nursing, have also demonstrated a lower level of physiological arousal
from stress-inducing situations when a friendly animal was present.
I can’t yet say that Max II has reduced my anxiety. I remain ever alert
to his need to head outside and his attempts to chew or tear up
anything he can reach. But there is no question that I am thrilled
by his antics, endearing personality, unconditional love (even when
I yell no), and the many connections he’s fostered with both
acquaintances and strangers.
As a study published in 2007 in Society & Animals concluded, pets “ameliorate
some determinants of mental health such as loneliness.”
found pet ownership to be associated “with social interactions, favor exchanges,
civic engagement, perceptions of neighborhood friendliness
and sense of community.”
Elderly dog owners report “significantly less dissatisfaction with their
social, physical and emotional states,” according to a 1993 study by veterinary
researchers at the University of California, Davis.
Children, too, can benefit from pet ownership, medically and socially.
home from infancy onward. Among boys in particular, who may have
few activities that foster nurturing behavior, caring for a pet enhances emotional
development and security, according to Gail F. Melson,
professor of developmental studies at Purdue University.
She found that 5-year-olds who turn to pets for support are rated by
parents as less anxious and withdrawn than comparable children who
have pets they don’t rely on.
But before acquiring any pet, and especially a dog, Alan M. Beck, who
heads the Center for the Human-Animal Bond at Purdue, urges people
to carefully consider the implications. “Look for an animal of an
appropriate breed, size and temperament for your household,” he said.
“Do you have the income, exercise ability and time the pet needs?” In
an interview, Dr. Beck suggested speaking to owners with the kind of
pet you are considering. If possible, visit a household with one. Better
still, he said, try pet-sitting for a few days or fostering an animal for a
few weeks to appreciate more fully what pet ownership entails and to determine if
you are up to the task.
“If you’re going to get a dog, you should be prepared to spend time on
basic training and socializing the animal,” Dr. Beck said. “A properly socialized dog
is better behaved and less likely to be aggressive and bite someone.”
In an interview, Dr. Friedmann emphasized that “pets are not a panacea”
to be treated like a drug taken when you feel unwell.
“Living with a companion animal involves responsibilities, the establishment of
structured routines for feeding, exercising and
nurturing,” she said. “The benefits you derive from the animal are
linked to these responsibilities.”