My dogs kept me sane when our world was insane. I just thought that was me and my babies, but I found this article on the internet that discusses a research project to define and quantify the effect of having a dog on us during this dark period in our lives. It is an interesting article and supports my findings personally. You can read part of this below but do click over to the article to read it all. See if you agree with their conclusions.
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Unsung Heroes of the Pandemic: Dogs
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Dec. 16, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Coping with the isolation, fear and sadness of the pandemic may have been a little easier if you had a trusting and loving dog by your side.
But you don't need to tell that to Francois Martin, a researcher who studies the bonds between animals and humans. His two Great Danes helped him through the last two years, and he just completed a study that shows living with a dog gave folks a stronger sense of social support and eased some of the negative psychological effects of the pandemic.
"When you ask people, 'Why is your dog important to you? What does your dog bring to you?' People will say that it's companionship. It's the feeling of belonging to a group that includes your family dog. It keeps people busy," said Martin, who is section leader for the Behavior and Welfare Group at Nestle Purina in St. Joseph, Mo. "If you have a dog, you have to walk the dog, you have to exercise the dog. It gives you a sense of purpose.
It's "just plain fun," Martin added. "I don't know anybody who is as happy as my dogs to see me every day."
His team saw the pandemic as a unique time to better understand how dogs provide social support to their owners...
(read the entire article here)
