Sometimes it pays to trust your instincts. If you have a pet your long-suspected
feelings that Fluffy or Fido is good for you are probably right, according to
research being conducted in the field of human-animal interactions. In fact,
your relationship with your pet could pay off with surprising dividends.
It's becoming increasingly evident that pets benefit their owners physically,
psychologically and socially. It may sound like a tall order for a small bundle
of fur or feathers to fill, but there's apparently a lot to be said for the
snuggling, laughter and unconditional love that pets provide.
In one case, it was this sort of intuitive feeling about a pet's value that
prompted the research. Karen Allen, Ph.D., was inspired to conduct a study,
"Dogs and Their Women: A Psycho-physiological Study of Social Support," because
of her other relationship with her St. Bernard, Brenda. "1 knew she had a
positive effect on my well-being," says Allen. "I knew she did."
To prove it, Allen got a grant from the National Institutes of Health and with
associates at State University of New York at Buffalo conducted a study with 45
women, their dogs and their self-selected best female friends.
The study was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology as
"Presence of Human Friends and Pet Dogs as Moderators of Autonomic Responses to
Stress in Women". To begin, Allen posted signs all over the city to which women
eagerly responded. By chance, all 45 participants were women who worked outside
the home in such professional fields as social work, teaching, nursing,
psychology, and library science. All subjects described themselves as dog
lovers.
Although the participants were pet lovers, the study was carefully constructed
to avoid bias in the results. The researchers measured blood pressure, pulse
rate and skin conductance as the women performed a stress task involving mental
arithmetic. The task was first performed in a laboratory setting with only a
researcher present.
It was performed again two weeks later in the subject's home in the presence of
her pet dog, a self-selected best female friend, or neither. The researchers
found that in these specific circumstances, woman's best stress-reducing friend
was her dog.
With pets present during task performance, the women's physical responses
remained close to a normal level. However, when the women performed the mental
arithmetic In the presence of their human friends, Allen said the measured
responses to stress "soared." Allen attributes the results to the fact that
while best human friends can be evaluative or judgmental, pets are not.
"Around their friends, the women were more nervous," Allen says, pointing out
that the pets did not serve as a distraction for their owners during the math
exercise. In the presence of their dogs, the women kept on with the task. With
human friends present, the women tended to stop, hesitate or make excuses. Allen
says the findings validate commonly accepted intuitions people have about why
they keep pets. Allen's own life serves as an example. She describes her job
with people who have a brain injury as "stressful work dealing with devastating
life problems." When she arrives at home, stress-relief is immediately
administered by her Border collie, Flannigan. "I open the door, the dog jumps
up, he's happy to see me, and I take him for a walk," Allen says. "It's a case
of mutual adoration." Brenda the St. Bernard died prior to Flanagan's arrival,
and Allen describes her dogless period as a miserable one. "Having a dog is an
uplifting experience. I can't imagine doing without a dog."
Like Allen, test participant Betsy Ferguson is a confirmed pet-lover. Ferguson,
development officer at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, has four pets at
home to greet her at the end of a stressful day. Her dogs are McDuff and Tasha
and the cats, The Little Girl and Mr. Puss. She also thinks of them as "children
in fur coats." "I was thrilled, but not surprised by the results of the study,"
says Ferguson. "I expected them to confirm what we already knew."
Ferguson says she was eager to participate in the study because she had always
believed in the value of pets and had read studies about elderly persons living
longer when they lived with pets. She hopes that the results of this and other
studies will be used in life-enhancing ways such as allowing residents of
nursing homes and retirement communities to have pets. She says her own pets
earn their keep by their snuggling and entertaining ways. "They add immeasurably
to your life. It's hard to quantify. I just know they make me happy. They
entertain me. They make me laugh. And … they're a lot of work."
Interest in the benefits of pet owner ship is not limited to the United States.
In Europe, the beneficial effects of pets on their owners' health were the topic
of a study conducted by James Serpell, Ph.D., director of the Companion Animal
Research Group, Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, University of
Cambridge, UK.
Serpell says his long-term study was meant to investigate pet ownership in the
same way as researchers would look at the effects of a new drug. The 10-month
study examined changes in the health status and behavior of 71 adults following
their acquisition of a new cat or dog. (A group of 26 subjects without pets
served as a comparison.) Pet owners reported a significant reduction in minor
health problems during the first month after getting their animals. This
positive health benefit was sustained by dog owners for the entire 10 months of
the study. In addition, the individuals with pets reported improvements in their
psychological well-being after the first six months of pet owner ship. Again,
dog owners sustained the improvements through the 10-month period.
Physical exercise was the last area to be examined in the study and it was found
that dog owners took considerably more exercise while walking their dogs than
either the cat owners or the adults without pets.
In evaluating the findings, Serpell could find no clear explanation for the
changes in pet owners' behavior and health. Within the dog-owning group, no
statistically significant connections were found between increases in
recreational walking and improvements in health. Likewise, it was determined
that the novelty of the pet-owning experience would not last for a 10-month
period. Although he says it's just a reasonable guess, he thinks that dog owners
may have experienced the longer-term benefits because dogs are generally more
interactive as pets. "I was very surprised by the research," he says. "I was not
expecting such strong changes - minor ones, yes."
Serpell calls the results of the study "highly significant." He is equally
pleased at their recent publication in the journal of the Royal Society of
Medicine. "It's quite a breakthrough getting the article published in a
mainstream medical journal. If one can interest the medical profession, then we
may be able to attract medical research funding [for the study of human-animal
interactions]."
Lynette A. Hart, Ph.D., director of the Human-Animal Program and director of the
Center for Animal Alternatives at the University of California, Davis, has
completed research which demonstrates the social benefits of pet ownership.
In different studies Hart has found that individuals' associations with animals
have the power to alter the quality of their interactions with other people. One
test involved the reactions of passersby to a stranger sitting alone in a park
either with a rabbit or a turtle or engaged in the act of watching television or
blowing soap bubbles. Adults approached the researcher most often when a rabbit
was present.
"Having an animal there creates a context for a comfortable conversation," Hart
says. "Animals play an important role in attracting people and stimulating
conversation." Hart used the rabbit and turtle because they aren't as
interactive as a dog and would not prove to be strong, over powering influences
soliciting attention in any way. Hart's study is published in the Journal of
Social Psychology. She conducted the research with Susan Hunt and Richard
Gomulkiewicz.
These and other researchers are engaged in continuing the study on the benefits
of pet ownership. Allen, for example, wants to repeat her work, replacing the
female friends with the subjects' husbands. (The women in the study suggested
the topic.) Serpell is currently engaged in a follow-up study that examines how
the personality of individuals may influence how they benefit from pet
ownership. Their work may one day provide enough evidence to say conclusively
that pets are the best prescription for people's well being. Of course, you
already "know" that.
