We recently acquired a puppy: an energetic 9-week-old black and white Staffie, full of the joy only possible in a young life filled solely with positive experiences. She approaches everything with curiosity, energy and a pure sense of fun. She makes us all smile with her antics; we are proud of her intelligence (she has already learned to sit); we love her already.
A paper published last year in BMC Psychiatry reviewing 17 studies concluded that, as long believed, pets provide benefits to human mental wellbeing. From the 15 studies that indicated a benefit to owning a pet, a number of themes emerged, which the researchers termed Emotional, Physical and Biographical. In short, pets were shown to alleviate worry; provide comfort; and mitigate against feelings of isolation and loneliness. Pets were able to provide unique emotional support as a result of their ability to respond to their owners in an intuitive way, especially in times of crisis and periods of active symptoms (Emotional). Pets had an impact on physical activity and distracted people from symptoms of illness (Physical), and pets acted as conduits to social interaction and provided emotional nourishment (fostered interaction with friends and family, and a sense of belonging to a community; Physical). Owning a pet gave people a sense of self-worth and meaning (Biographical) (Brooks et al, 2018).
It is hardly surprising then that so many homeless people have a dog. A dog can provide the kind of unconditional and stable friendship most people desire. According to StreetVet (https://www.streetvet.co.uk), for people living on the streets their animals can be the sole light of their existence. So much so that many homeless people choose to stay on the street with their pet rather than to give up their pet for accommodation that does not allow animals. I find it hard to understand why so many landlords refuse tenants with animals. Should we do more to try to change the law and get rid of the no-pet clause in rental accommodation?
Sadly, mental health issues are increasing in our pets too: the PAW report 2018 revealed that 51% of veterinary professionals have seen an increase in dogs with behavioural issues in the last 2 years, and this includes fear and phobias leading to anxiety (PDSA, 2018). March this year was designated Pet Anxiety Month. The nationwide campaign, launched by Ceva Animal Health, aims to educate pet owners on the signs of anxiety in their cats and dogs, help them identify the cause of the problem and encourage changes both in and out of the home environment to support anxious pets.
An excellent article published recently in Companion Animal, our sister journal for vets, highlighted the benefits of social play in senior dogs (Tomlinson, 2019). It stated that play in ageing dogs not only could help maintain muscle strength and stamina, but also could help delay or slow the progression of cognitive dysfunction. If a dog is unable to run with another dog, or chase a ball, because of exercise contraints related to their age, then other more suitable forms of play can be used — such as food puzzles. Our new puppy is helping to maintain physical and mental wellbeing in our two older dogs, and our 11-year-old Staffie cross has even started to play with her, gently chasing her round the garden, and playing tug of war with a rope toy — it's wonderful to see.