It’s estimated that almost 80 million people have dogs in the US, according to the ASPCA, and most of those pups are treated like members of the family. But it’s mutual — dogs seem to love their owners just as much, and some go even further: They help owners live healthier, and safer lives.
Some of these pets are certified service dogs, from seeing-eye to those who detect low blood sugar in diabetics. But pets in general can have a marked affect on health. Ninety-seven percent of doctors believe in the healing power of pets, according to a 2014 survey from the Human Animal Bond Research Institute, and more and more doctors are including a “Do you have a pet?” question in their exams.
The benefit of pets in our lives even has a name, “zooeyia,” and doctors are now considering four-legged friends an essential piece of the wellness puzzle.
“The hard indicators are clear; pets are beneficial to health,” says Carrie Nydick Finch, LCSW, program director at Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS), a New York City nonprofit that helps residents facing physical challenges keep their pets in their homes. “But we also see so many benefits to the bond formed between humans and their pets. For some, pets are literally a reason to live.”
Here, five New Yorkers share how their pups keep them healthy.
Charlie barks for help
Helene Hines, who has multiple sclerosis (MS), recalls dropping her car keys into a deep snowbank one day last February outside of her Midtown East apartment.
“There was no way I could dig [around] for them,” says the 69-year-old, whose chronic disease, which affects the nervous system, limits her ability. Thankfully, her certified service dog Charlie, a black lab, began pawing through the snow bank.
“In seconds, he had found them,” she says.
Charlie is trained to assist Hines in everyday tasks: He fetches her cell phone from the table, stands guard while she’s in the shower (Charlie knows to get her husband Charlie if she needs assistance) and helps to guide her wheelchair (Hines both walks and uses a wheelchair, depending on her comfort and pain level).
One time, while walking in a Garden City, LI, mall, Hines collapsed and Charlie barked wildly to alert passerby.
But equally helpful, says Hines, are the intangible benefits Charlie brings to her life. “I feel people look down at me in my wheelchair and treat me as if I’m hard of hearing or can’t see,” says Hines.
“But when Charlie’s by my side, something changes. It’s as if they can suddenly see me the way Charlie sees me. They see me as a person.”
Isabella shines bright
“I seriously wanted to throw in the towel,” says Thomas Elsemiller, a 54-year-old Chelsea hairdresser who had been simultaneously diagnosed with a brain tumor and lymphoma in 2001. “I was in so much pain, I was so weak, and I couldn’t imagine how I would ever feel healthy again. But then I would think, ‘OK, who will take care of the dogs?’ ”
At the time, Elsemiller lived alone and found that his three Schnauzers helped him keep a “normal” routine, even during cancer treatments.
“They still needed food, they needed to be walked, they needed love. They were helping me get out of the house, and they also helped me stay connected to the world,” he says. “They knew what I needed. They would sit in bed with me for hours. For me, they made my cancer just a little smaller.”
Now 15 years cancer-free, Elsemiller is committed to always keeping a pet, and recently adopted a new Schnauzer, Isabella: “Pets are these little beacons of health. They make you feel good.”
Tiga gives support
A horrific rental scam last October made it difficult for Amanda Stevens, a 30-year-old Hell’s Kitchen photographer, to sleep.
“I’m a freelance photographer who’s always juggling multiple assignments and clients, which can be incredibly overwhelming. I’m always stressed,” she says. “But the rental scam brought everything to a head.”
The event cost her thousands of dollars and required moving back in with her parents — exacerbating her anxiety and depression.
Her only relief: Her Chihuahua, Tiga.
“My mind would just start spinning: ‘Where will I live, how will I get my money back?’ But Tiga helped ground me and stop me from spiraling. I could cuddle her when I was stressed out and she helped me breathe normally. I would think: ‘I don’t know how everything will be okay, but I know that together, we can get through this.’
“I got her certified as an emotional-support animal,” adds Stevens, who’s now back in her own apartment. “I needed it. She’s helped me through depression and anxiety.”
Stevens finds Tiga’s calming presence a lifesaver on planes as well. “I never fly without her,” she says. “She has definitely increased the quality of my life.”
Zoe walks for the cure
Her now-15-year-old Bichon Frise, Zoe, kept Harriette Rose Katz going through nine operations and two infections after a 2015 fall in her Upper East Side building led to a broken leg.
“Zoe was my biggest cheerleader,” says the 75-year-old, who owns event-planning company Gourmet Advisory.
“Physical-therapy sessions could be agonizing, but I made it through because of Zoe. My physical therapist would come to my apartment and Zoe walked by my side, first when we worked on me [getting] from one end of the apartment to the other. [We also] spent countless hours walking the hallway of my building, Zoe by my side. I truly believe she motivated me through the entire recovery process.
“I kept thinking that I needed to be walking her outside. I didn’t want to let her down.”
Now that Katz is done with rehab, she and Zoe can be found strolling the Upper East Side. “It’s good for both of us,” she says.
Cooper calms her down
“On the surface, everything seemed ‘fine,’ but I knew I was struggling,” says Alexandra Janelli, 35, of a difficult period in her life three years ago. “My now-ex husband was traveling all the time, so I would work like crazy.”
Janelli was unhappy, she says, plus overweight and struggling with insomnia.
Enter Cooper, an Australian Shepherd that Janelli adopted via PetFinder.
“He was so anxious and I felt like we were the perfect fit,” says the hypnotherapist and founder of Modrn Sanctuary, a Chelsea-based wellness center. “My whole life as a therapist was treating people with anxiety. I felt like I could handle Cooper.”
As Janelli helped Cooper calm down, Cooper helped Janelli crank up her energy — and her confidence.
“Australian Shepherds are herding dogs, so they love movement. I wanted him to get exercise and I wanted to get exercise,” says Janelli, who began going on two- to three-mile runs with Cooper a few times a week.
Within a year, Janelli’s blood pressure and stress lowered and she dropped 20 pounds from her frame. “We helped each other,” she says.
