Paige Gibson

N. Bulava

Senior Comp.

March 20th

The Benefits of Dogs

My dog, Nikki, has helped me so much throughout my life and is always there to cheer

me up after a hard day. Just seeing her when I get home brings a smile to my face. She has not

only helped me emotionally but socially as well. I could talk about Nikki for hours and never get

bored. She has been the best dog one could ever ask for. Oftentimes dogs are considered a

“man's best friend”, but they contribute much more than the average person thinks. Dogs help to

calm people in hostile situations, increase socialization along with physical health in their

owners, and even save lives.

Dogs have a big impact on their owners' physical health. A study done by “Harvard

Health” found that dog owners have an “11% lower” risk of having a heart attack than non-dog

owners; this demonstrates the various benefits of having a dog (Shmerling 2). This information

provides insight on how dogs can improve our short and long term health. Another health benefit

of dog ownership is that “cardiovascular deaths were lowered by 36%” (Shmerling 2). Knowing

heart disease is one of the leading causes of death, having a dog can greatly reduce this statistic

and help people live long and happy lives. Dogs can also increase “opportunities for exercise”

for their owners (CDC 1). Dogs enjoy and need exercise, which makes owners feel obligated to

get out of the house to walk their dog. Not only can dogs help humans get exercise through

walking, but studies have shown dogs can encourage humans to “create a [walking] schedule -

and actually stick to it” (American Kennel Club 7). Having a schedule can help people to stay
motivated to walk. Walking your dog can help to lower your blood pressure and your cholesterol

levels, which could help your heart stay healthy. Exercising will greatly increase your physical

health and wellbeing.

Having a dog greatly benefits your mental health and your emotions. According to the

CDC, studies have shown how big of a role pets play in reducing “feelings of loneliness, anxiety,

and symptoms of PTSD” (CDC 1). When petting a dog a hormone called serotonin is produced

in dogs and their humans, which lifts both the person and the dogs moods, and ultimately helps

make them both happier. So not only do dogs help humans but humans help dogs as well. Dogs

help people to feel heard and a sense of belonging. According to a study done by the University

of Michigan, “90 percent of people said that having a dog helped them to enjoy life and feel

loved”; this emphasizes the major impact dogs have on human mental health (American Kennel

Club 6). The bond between a dog and their owner gives both of them a sense of belonging and

happiness, the dog is happy to have a loving companion and the person is happy to have a best

friend. Dogs have a sixth sense when it comes to their owner. They know exactly when and how

to cheer their owner up when they are down and they are always there to talk to when you need

someone to confide in. When you come home from a long stressful day at work your dog is

always there excitedly waiting for you to come home, in fact, a study showed that “80 percent

[of people] claimed their pets [have] helped them to destress” (American Kennel Club 6). Being

less stressed helps your overall physical and mental health.

Additionally, dogs can play a big role in their owners' socialization. Dogs can greatly

help your confidence at starting conversations with strangers. This is because dogs make great

icebreakers. People love to talk about their dogs and it can make for some great connections

amongst other dog owners and non-dog owners. A recent poll determined that out of “2,000 dog
owners surveyed, nearly half … made friends while walking their dogs” (American Kennel Club

2). This is because dogs help us to feel confident and more prone to socialization amongst other

humans. Many dog owners also feel having a dog helps when it comes to dating. Mentioning

your dog on dating apps can actually “help with … matches” (American Kennel Club 5). People

enjoy seeing a dog on dating apps and can help create conversation which could eventually lead

to a relationship amongst you and another dog lover. Not only can your dog help you get a date,

they can also give you something to talk about on the date. Dogs help make it easier to “have

natural conversations” not just in the dating world, but everywhere (American Kennel Club 3).

Dogs are great conversation starters and give us the confidence we need to put ourselves out

there to meet new people.

Therapy and Service dogs help people overcome tough obstacles everyday. Whether

you're in a therapist's office, hospital, or in an active crisis situation, therapy dogs can help

people to calm down and focus less on the intense and stressful situation at hand. Therapy dogs

not only help adults, but they can help kids as well. These dogs can give “ learning disabled

children the confidence to read out loud” (Alliance of Therapy Dogs 3). This can help many

children work on their reading and speech disabilities such as dyslexia, stuttering and other

speech impediments, which will help them to succeed, thrive, and feel included in a school

setting. Therapy dogs could certainly make others feel at ease, happy, and bring a smile to

people's faces in hospitals. Dogs could assist any age group including the elderly that live in

nursing homes. Having a dog in a nursing or assisted living home would make the residents feel

welcome in their new environment.

Service dogs are essential to many individuals' daily lives. Service animals “are trained to

help one specific individual with a disability” (Alliance of Therapy Dogs 4). These animals help
to keep their owner out of harm's way. Service animals can help physically disabled people that

are blind, have diabetes, etc. They can help by guiding people from place to place, bringing

medicine to their owners, and getting help from strangers when their owner is in need of

assistance. Not only can service dogs be used for physical disabilities, but they can assist with

mental conditions such as PTSD and anxiety. Service dogs for mental health are able to calm

their owner down when having a seizure or panic attack related to their mental disabilities.

Service dogs are able to go wherever their owner goes no matter what disability they have.

Likewise, Rescue dogs aid people in disasters and other stressful situations. 9/11 is a

prime example of this; many rescue dogs were searching and helping for people after the attacks.

One dog, Roselle, helped their blind owner down “78 flights of stairs” during the attack on the

Twin Towers (Boccone 1). This dog single handedly saved her owners life. Other dogs such as

therapy dogs were at the scene helping to calm people because they were so shaken up from this

horrific disaster. Search and rescue dogs were also there helping to bury through the rubble to

hopefully find some survivors. These rescue dogs didn't save many people but the ones they did

save lived long and happy lives. One survivor that was found by a dog was in the rubble for three

days before they were found; that rescue dog saved their life. Dogs were used to rescue these

people because they can smell living people from a mile away, and this would help to detect

humans faster and easier. Rescue dogs are “able to squeeze into tight spaces” and stand on weak

surfaces since they are lightweight (Bahr 1). Because of this dogs are able to find people that

were deep in the rubble, and bark to alert rescue searchers that there was a sign of life within the

ruins. These rescue dogs didn’t have an easy job and some of them had trouble breathing because

of smoke inhalation. During their searches to find survivors, rescue dogs had sustained injuries

such as cuts, scrapes, dehydration, and some dogs' paws were burnt due to the hot burning
rubble, but the dogs were fixed up and put back to work. With the use of dogs in rescue missions

millions of people were able to be saved not only during 9/11, but in other natural disasters.

Dogs are more than just “ a man’s best friend”, and they should be considered heroes

amongst humans. Dogs help humans physical health, mental health, increase their owners'

relationships, help guide people with mental and physical disabilities, and rescue and calm

people down in disastrous situations. Dogs bring out the best in us, like my dog, Nikki, has for

me. She has had a big impact on me and I couldn’t imagine my life without her. She has helped

me to reduce my stress and ultimately become a better version of myself.

 Work Cited

Bahr, Sarah. “The Dogs of 9/11: Their Failed Searches for Life Helped Sustain It.” The New

York Times, 30 Aug. 2021,

www.nytimes.com/2021/08/30/arts/design/the-dogs-of-9-11.html.

CDC. “How to Stay Healthy around Pets | Healthy Pets, Healthy People | CDC.” Www.cdc.gov,

16 Sept. 2021, www.cdc.gov/healthypets/keeping-pets-and-people-healthy/how.html.

Dogs, Alliance of Therapy. “What Do Therapy Dogs Actually Do?” Alliance of Therapy Dogs

Inc., 27 May 2022, www.therapydogs.com/what-do-therapy-dogs-actually-do/.

Jun 05, AKC Staff, et al. “Why Having a Dog Is Actually Great for Your Social Life and

Mental Health.” American Kennel Club, 19 July 2019,

www.akc.org/expert-advice/news/dog-actually-great-social-life-mental-health.

Sep 05, Bud Boccone, et al. “Guide Dog Roselle Helped Her Blind Owner Escape 9/11.”

American Kennel Club, 5 Sept. 2021,

www.akc.org/expert-advice/news/guide-dog-helped-blind-partner-escape-wtc/.

Shmerling, Robert H. “Dogs and Health: A Lower Risk for Heart Disease-Related Death?

- Harvard Health Blog.” Harvard Health Blog, 11 June 2018,

www.health.harvard.edu/blog/dogs-and-health-a-lower-risk-for-heart-disease-related-deat

h-2018061114020.