Psych of pets
Molly is getting old. Thirteen years of continually jumping off docks, chasing grouse, dreaming of ducks and swimming for sticks has worn out my yellow Labrador retriever's body. Last year Molly dove off the dock at Higgens Point as she's done hundreds of times before. I knew she was slowing down but did not expect her to give up in the water. I dove in the cold lake and swam Molly to shore. She was a great swimmer and incredible competitor but not anymore - she is old.
My dog's first sign of aging happened a few years ago. Molly, my wife, daughter and I went to my brother-in-law's cabin on the Clark Fork River. While mooring to the dock after a great day of fishing, my wife waved from the shore and yelled, "Hurry up, something is wrong with Molly." Molly was hurt; she threw her front shoulder out while competing with other dogs over a duck decoy. She was struggling to walk and yelped with every step. I massaged her shoulder back into place while comforting my little puppy realizing her pain.
Molly's life started out rough. Her previous owners kenneled her for her first two years of her life. She was only able to leave her kennel once a week for a walk with her owner. On this walk, Molly would chase kids on bicycles and nibble at their ankles as they rode by. Consequently, Molly's owners deemed her vicious and were afraid to allow her to play with their children. She was forced to void her bowels in her kennel, which made housebreaking difficult and had no discipline training. My sister in-law called, knowing I wanted a Lab, and asked if we would take this vicious beast. My answer was yes!
Our first six months together were rough. Molly chewed three garden hoses, my lawnmower cord, pulled my birch tree from the yard and bit a large piece of siding from our home. She refused to come in the house and when I carried her in, refused to lie down and ran the hallways and stairs constantly.
A friend told me there are two types of Labrador retrievers; drug sniffers and Seeing Eye dogs. I have a drug sniffer. Drug sniffers always want to work and seldom slow down. Seeing Eye dogs are calm and wait for their owner to tell them what to do. Molly never stops. I worked with her daily, took her to the lake, took her hiking and hunting, taught her to sit, stay, heal, fetch and to lie down. Molly became a kind, well-trained, obedient, loyal family pet.
Molly has gone from a 67-pound workhorse to a 130-pound fat pig of a dog and back down to a working 67 pounds again. Our last dog, Bogart, was a Chihuahua mutt mix with an attitude. In Bogey's final year of life he struggled to eat so we left his food out all of the time. Molly took advantage of Bogey's need for food and ate until she became obese. I placed Molly on a strict diet after Bogart died and she has maintained her weight for the past five years. Now that Molly's days are short, I sneak her a surprise Sun Chip or marshmallows for a treat. I hide her daily aspirin that alleviates her pain enough to walk, in a piece of cheese, which she gratefully swallows whole and begs for more.
On our trips to the cabin, Bogey and I would share Taco Bell bean burritos - I take a bite, he takes a bite. Thinking back, this sounds absolutely disgusting but at the time it seemed as natural as offering a bite to my daughter. Bogey was part of the family. Traveling from our home in South Dakota to relatives in Montana, the tire went flat on our car just prior to Lolo. We pulled over to change the tire as a truck pulled up behind us.
Bogey barked at everyone and became simply annoying when someone he didn't know approached - the mailman, a knock at the front door, skateboards (he hated skateboards). As this man walked up to our car, Bogey became incensed. He barked as if ready to kill and my wife, child and I started to scold the dog, "Quiet, knock it off, quit barking." As the Montana native in his overalls and John Deere hat walked up to our yelling he offered, "You know; if a dog wants to bark, you better just let him." This saying has become a mantra in our life. "If a child wants to cry, you better just let her." "If a driver wants to flip you off, you better just let him." "If a fish wants to bite, you better just let it." This saying has alleviated much anxiety in our lives and thanks to this little dog, we laugh at difficult situations instead of getting angry.
Owning a pet offers numerous psychological benefits. Pets relieve daily anxiety and stress from a person's life. Petting an animal, looking into a calming aquarium or watching a tropical bird increases one's serotonin level, which is the neurotransmitter that increases mood and decreases stress. Pet ownership also aids in the adjustment to serious illness and death. Children often find comfort in a pet when a close family member dies and seniors who do not have a close source of human support were found to have less depression if they had a pet.
Pets offer companionship when human touch is absent. Residents of nursing homes are more apt to smile, talk, reach out to people and objects, be attentive and alert, and experience a greater sense of well-being and less depression if animals are present in the facility.
Families surveyed before and after they acquired a pet report feeling happier after adding a pet to the family. A study in a Veteran's Hospital showed that the residents had more verbal interactions with each other when a dog was present in the room than when there was no dog present. Dogs are also shown to increase socialization among persons with Alzheimer's disease in a Special Care Unit of a nursing home. Also, residents in long-term care facilities are more likely to attend activity sessions when an animal is going to be present.
Now Molly is old and I wonder daily how long she will live. When is the right time to say she's had enough? Is she suffering? Is her life still worth living? When I decide her life has come to an end, will I give her one last swim in the lake, what will her last meal be, how will I have her put down? Should I do it myself in her favorite place, should I take her to the veterinarian and leave, should I have someone come to my house to put her out of her suffering or should I stay with her at the vet's as she puts her down? I've been told that I will know the answer to these questions when the time comes.
When Molly first joined our family, I spent my nights after work on the couch watching television and basically being a slug. Molly gave me something to do - a purpose. She is a puppy in her dreams. Molly still jumps off the Higgens Point dock in her sleep. I watch her mouth move and her body twitch as she lets out a small bark and, there she goes; legs stretched out in front of her - splash. She begins to swim in her sleep, her tail wags and she offers her duck dummy to me preparing for another imaginary dive. Now it's my turn to help the pup that forced me off the couch when I felt too lazy to move. She can sleep and dream by the fireplace as long as she wishes and I will ensure her life is lived with dignity.
Bill Rutherford is a psychotherapist, public speaker, elementary school counselor, adjunct college psychology instructor and executive chef, and owner of Rutherford Education Group. Please e-mail him at bprutherford@hotmail.com and check out www.foodforthoughtcda.com.