The Power of Poochers

With 43,152 steps recorded this week, I have walked a total of 555,606 steps since Memorial Day. 

I explored the Brighton Recreational Area in Howell, MI this week but found that I don’t do so well on a large expanse of unknown terrain.  By the time I located the trail heads, it was nearly dark.  Oh, well…next time.

Throughout the summer, I have noticed the cutest art pieces decorating the sidewalks of Grand Haven.  My detective work revealed that this display is called Arf Walk, as a precursor to the annual Art Walk.  Anyone can purchase a five-foot dog for $250 or a two-foot dog for $35.  On September 29^th, the adorned dogs are to be brought back downtown for a voting extravaganza. 

I can’t look at one of these art pieces without thinking of my own dogs, Gus and McCray, as well as all the dogs I have loved and lived with throughout my life.  

The first I remember was Rover, a big, scary dog that we kept chained up in the backyard.  Being just a little thing, I was allowed nowhere near him.  But the story goes that the only way anyone could get close enough to feed him was to sing the Brady Bunch theme song. 

I remember Wimpy, who was more my sister’s dog than the family dog.  One day while we were at church, Wimpy got away and crossed one of the busier roads in town.  (Dogs and busy roads are not a good combination.) 

We had Coco for several years until she, too, decided to head outside the bounds of the yard, to a New Years Eve party no doubt, never to return.

And I could never forget Splatch, my sweet little Pomapoo who was never happier than when he was licking my cleavage.  I know.  Gross.  But it’s not like I invited it.

OK, I know it takes a lot to raise these canine creatures, but have you ever thought about what they do for us?  Documentation shows they reduce stress by regulating blood pressure and heart rates and that they relieve symptoms associated with depression and anxiety. 

At the American Heart Association Scientific Conference in 2009, researchers revealed results of a study involving stockbrokers, who were candidates for medication to lower blood pressure. The researchers first evaluated the brokers' blood pressure under conditions of stress by producing a stressful situation common to the subjects’ line of work. They were next given speeded numerical tasks and asked to role-play a situation in which they had to talk their way out of an awkward position; their average blood pressure shot up to 184/129.

While each stockbroker took the same medication, half of them agreed to get a dog or cat as well.

Six months later, the researchers performed the stress tests again, allowing pet-acquired subjects to keep the pets with them. The brokers on the combined therapy (both pet and medication) showed a rise in stress-related blood pressure only half as large as the brokers who were treated with medication only.

Yep.  Poochers are work.  But they’re family, too.  And the benefits of having them in our lives far outweigh any hassle they may put us through.  (Remind me of this the next time I complain about cleaning up vomit or trying to find the other half of the dollar they devoured.)

Enjoy your day.  Enjoy this blog.