There’s a good reason dogs are known as man’s best friend. They provide us with entertainment, help us keep fit, and enhance our social lives. However, more recently, there has been a newfound appreciation for how our furry companions can provide meaningful emotional and medical support.
For many people living with medical conditions, a dog is far more than just a pet. For Sydney Sheets, her dog Halo is a piece of living medical equipment, helping the university student to better manage her diabetes.
Halo can recognize if Sydney is ever in danger as a result of her condition. Low blood sugar levels can severely impact a range of bodily functions, such as sight and the ability to walk. If Sydney’s diabetes was to impair her vision, Halo would respond by leading her to a safe place. The college student’s constant need for her dog means that he has seamlessly adapted to her campus routine. Despite no legal restrictions, some of her classmates are uncomfortable having Halo present during their classes.
Service animals for health conditions are granted specialist treatment under the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, the legislature covering emotional support animals isn’t as extensive, only being granted extra rights in housing and not on campus. Many are now calling for more emotional support animals to be allowed at university.
Despite this, changing policy to allow more emotional support animals on campus isn’t without its challenges. Dr Phyllis Erdman has stressed just how difficult the situation is becoming. There must be careful consideration not only of those who will benefit from having more pets on campus, but also of those with animal phobias and allergies.
One suggestion has been teaching on-campus officers to better be able to identify and distinguish between emotional support animals and service animals. Better training will also help to prevent those seeking to take advantage of the system by bringing animals on campus without legitimate reasoning.
A top priority for many universities is to teach their staff about how to appropriately deal with the increased number of animals on campus. Sydney has already shared her approval of the measures implemented by her university and is hopeful for the future.
Sometimes, it feels like the animals of the world are the only ones who truly understand us. There’s a reason why dogs are known as man’s best friend, after all. Through good times, and also through bad times, they are there for us. In fact, a lot of us confide in our canines more than we ever would in a fellow human. And there’s a reason why doing this is as good for them as getting our problems off our chest is good for us.
We’ve All Seen the Videos
YouTube is crammed with funny pet videos. Whether it’s cats being taken by surprise by cucumbers or hamsters undertaking homemade assault courses, you can lose entire afternoons watching cute animal footage filmed on cell phones. But it’s the dogs who are the kings and queens of the format.
A video of an owner talking to their dog demonstrates this deep, almost spiritual, relationship. And when the owner describes what the dog could be thinking in response to their statements, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility to think it could be true! And at the same time, the owner will be helping their dog by talking to them too.
Treating our pets exactly as we would treat a person is a good thing. It’s called anthropomorphizing and it shows that we as humans are intelligent! We think that our dogs can understand us because we are talking to them in a language they can comprehend.
This means we’re a species with a superior grasp of communication. So keep talking to your best buddy on the end of their leash, wherever you take them. Ask them who’s a good or clever boy or girl and don’t be surprised if one day they actually answer you back to tell you that they are, even if it's in their language.