Why Love is the Best Medicine
Gracie in her new bed. photo: Alan Stewart
I stare into Gracie’s dark, deep eyes. She stares back. She seeks attention and love, and I willingly deliver. What she doesn’t know is that in that moment of connection, worries vanish. Pains vanish. Fears vanish. Serotonin and dopamine wash over me and serotonin and dopamine wash over her. It’s a moment I wish could last forever. A moment that miraculously makes everything disappear. Nothing works as well. Nothing permeates my consciousness other than gratitude. Maybe that’s why people like working with and being with animals.
It is not just my own dog Gracie. Nearly all our pets can perform this calming miracle for us. From hamsters and rats to dogs and cats and all the way up to horses (especially horses). I wish that same peace, that connection could be experienced by everyone, not just lucky pet lovers. Or that we could bottle it. Maybe even make a pill that can mimic it, which the pharmaceutical companies have certainly tried.
There are reasons why antidepressants are the third most prescribed class of drugs today, with an estimated 10 percent of human adults taking at least one daily. Most of these drugs increase a person’s dopamine and/or serotonin levels. But for those of us who have the luxury of experiencing this same relief from our connection with our pets, there has to be something more. Gratitude is not as simple as two chemicals. It is multifactorial. Me taking care of you; you giving me something unexpected, undeserved. Unconditional love.
It’s nice when you can’t explain everything with chemicals.
Today, the benefits of meditation are also being proselytized and promoted. But how are these benefits really so different from the peace that we find by being present with our pets? We know that meditation can:
Improve our focus (pets do this by keeping us on a schedule)
Reduce anxiety (what’s better than a kitten kneading your lap?)
Improve immune health (as gratitude has also been shown to do)
Lower blood pressure (also proven with pets)
Reduce stress (nothing like a wagging tail to calm your heartbeat)
Regulate mood and manage depression (the 23 million American households that added a pet during the pandemic can’t all be wrong)
As a pet owner and a veterinarian, I’ve learned firsthand the benefits of being present with your pet. It’s not just giving them treats (even the latest and best organic treats imported from Italy - guilty!). But the best treat we can give them is our love. Absolutely nothing else tastes as good to them, even for most Labradors who are famous genetic food hounds.
Love doesn’t add unnecessary calories, and it gets your pet’s hormones flowing, especially if you talk to them simultaneously. Research has shown pets definitely respond on an innate level when we whisper sweet nothings into their furry ears. In fact, singing may be even better, though only talking has been studied to date. Perhaps too few of us admit to singing to our pet, but I’ll bet most of us have a special pet song. I know I do - in fact, several.
Sharing our lives with pets gives us the opportunity to feel grateful for small things throughout the day. Even if they are unwell, there is gratitude generated in the selfless act of providing care for them. And feeling gratitude on a regular basis, whether for a pet or a human, has been scientifically proven to have measurable psychological, physical, and interpersonal benefits.
Maybe if we could all bottle that feeling and extend it to our fellow human beings the world could be a better place, especially now. I am not saying that sensation can resolve the wars in Ukraine or the Middle East (I wish). But that sensation can help make us better people. Make us want to connect. Rip us away from our technology and go out and touch someone. Help someone. Be kind to a complete stranger.
If you have read this far, that feeling must touch you as well. May I encourage you to put it into action? Put your device in do-not-disturb mode. Go for a dog walk without your watch or phone, play with your pet, help a neighbor, show love to your partner. Just connect.
Make time every day to unplug and focus on those around you and their hearts- with intent. Make this practice a part of you. The world will become a better place.