Top Dog

Top Dog
The late Charles Schultz Peanuts comic strip character, Snoopy, is not the only famous and beloved beagle.  The top dog, Miss P, won best in show at the 2015 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. The 15-inch beagle reached the pinnacle of the dog world as the second beagle to win the prestigious dog show recently held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Did you know there are health benefits to owning a pet? The American Heart Association has linked pet ownership, especially dogs, with a reduced risk of heart disease and greater longevity.

“A pet is a medication without side effects that has many benefits. I can’t always explain it myself, but for years now, I’ve seen how instances of having a pet are like an effective drug.  It does help people.”  Dr Edward Creagan, Oncologist at Mayo Clinic

Research has shown time and again that there are positive benefits to having a pet in the home when you’re going through a health crisis, dealing with a chronic disease, or just companionship.  The positive benefits are valid for all ages, from young children to adults. Pets are a source of comfort and unconditional love.  A faithful companion at any time you might need it!   Having a pet can also give you a sense of safety and security. The benefits of pet ownership on the info graph below:

The benefits of Pet Ownership Include health benefits, companionship, home security, increased social interaction, responsibility, and entertainment.

I don’t need to remind you how intelligent our canine creatures are. Assistance or service dogs serve an excellent purpose in assisting people with disabilities. The following quote sums up what they represent very nicely: “Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.

Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties.  Service animals are working animals, not pets.  The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability”.

An example of how our pets love us:  According to a September 13, 2012, article by the New York Daily News, Michael Guzman died in 2006 and was buried in Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina.  Shortly after the death of its owner, the family dog disappeared. Capitán, a German Shepherd mix, was given to the family by a fire about a year earlier. A few days later, the dog went missing, and the family visited Guzmán’s grave, and to their surprise.  Capitán was spotted by the family next to the father’s grave.  The family had no idea how the dog found the grave.

Aren’t dogs amazing? I guess you can tell I am a dog lover. Have you heard about the dog that rode the bus by himself to go to a dog park?  That was a black Labrador from Seattle named Eclipse.  Eclipse became a regular fixture on the city’s D-Line after she decided to ride the bus alone to the dog park. According to Lindsay Cohen’s article, the two-year-old doesn’t always ride the bus alone.  She visits the dog park several times a week, sometimes with and without her owner.

The two dog examples show dedication to the dead owner and determination to get to the dog park. The character of our fury friends continues to remind us that dogs are indeed “man’s best friend.”

Oh, how we love our pets.  I recently saw National Love Your Pet Day on Instagram. This unofficial national holiday is set aside to give extra attention to and pamper the pets that we love every day.  I say we don’t need an unofficial day to recognize our pets. The love our pets provide, I know we show them love every day.

When I learned about National Love Your Pet Day on Instagram, I couldn’t help but notice that pets, especially dogs, have a presence on social media. Dogs have their hashtags. For one, the dogs of Instagram have 1.3 million followers. Need I say more?

My beloved Elmo, an English Springer Spaniel, passed away in 2005.  I still have Elmo’s pedigree papers from the American Kennel Club.  My top dog was my third child, whom I missed nine years later. Even if you are not a dog lover, I hope the enjoyment of owning a pet brings tremendous joy to your life.

Have a great week!