By Kate Leo
It wasn’t until sixth grade that I truly understood the saying, “a dog is a man’s best friend.”
Growing up, the only pet I had was a cat. When I was younger, I remember being deathly afraid of my best friend’s dog to the point where the mom would have to shut the dog in another room when we came over. I wasn’t used to the idea of jumping and licking as a way to profess love for their owner. All I knew was the quiet and calm love my cat gave when she curled up in my lap to sleep. But my definition of love from an animal soon changed as, one day, when walking home from middle school, my mom met us holding a leash with a fluffy dog attached. Apparently we had adopted Murphy, a cockapoo. At first I was unsure about him as he crazily pulled on the leash, barked endlessly in his crate at night, and lunged at UPS trucks and other dogs.
I quickly came to realize though that he pulled on the leash to get to me faster, barked in his crate because he missed us, and lunged at other dogs because he was excited to greet them. Now, Murphy is my best friend; he never fails to consistently greet me with a wagging tail, curl up next to me as I go to sleep, cause my stomach to ache because I laugh too hard when he steals something from around the house, and help me avoid my homework when he licks my face out of love. Having a dog has decreased my stress and has increased my happiness significantly. I can always count on him because nothing changes in his world; my family is his world.
Obviously people feel the same way as dogs are used universally to help humans. Dogs are used on planes helping those who hate flying to relax. Dogs are brought to campus to brighten students’ day and take their mind off of their stressful work. Dogs are used to detect oncoming episodes of epilepsy, high blood pressure, and other chronic illnesses. Dogs are recruited to lead the blind. Dogs are used to help people through PTSD. Most importantly, dogs are undoubtedly loyal.
I believe that dogs can be crucial in leading a healthy lifestyle. They improve mental health as they can keep things in perspective when they are always happy to see you walk through the door. Caring for a dog takes time and gives people a sense of responsibility and purpose. With this mutual relationship, an unbreakable bond is inevitably created between a human and dog.
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