You all know that I’m a big lover of dogs. I had Glory, the black and white springer spaniel, for nearly 15 years, and now Milly, the liver and white springer spaniel, has been with me for almost six years.
Having a dog is a lot of responsibility, but I’ve always believed that responsibility was worth it, given how much love the dog gives you in return. Milly, for instance, is always happy to see me. She loses her mind, to be honest, running around the room, jumping up on me and barking every time I walk in the door, even if all I did was go outside to check the mail.
But now, it turns out, that having a dog is actually good for your health. A new study says cuddling with your dog, playing with your dog, even talking to your dog will produce hormones in your brain that can make your happier. They can reduce stress and even boost your immune system.
It’s a scientific fact that having Milly around is good for my health, and as Barney Fife once said, “You can’t argue in the face of a scientific fact.”
I do feel happier when I’m playing with Milly. She makes me laugh when she tries to sneak up on the geese when we walk along the lake. I know springers can make good bird dogs, and bird dogs know how to sneak. Milly, however, must have missed that gene. The geese are always on to her.
I can’t say my immune system has gotten a boost, but having time to throw the ball or go on walks with her definitely helps lower the stress built up during a long day in a busy newsroom.
On the other hand, dogs aren’t perfect. I love throwing the ball for Milly, and she certainly loves retrieving. However, I don’t love throwing the ball a thousand times for Milly. Springers apparently don’t tire of chasing balls.
She also doesn’t like people coming to our door. I’m not sure why I have a doorbell. I have a springer, and she starts barking anytime someone gets within 20 feet of the door. While she’s only about 35 pounds, she sounds like a much larger dog, and I’m sure the guy delivering our pizza things a Rottweiler is about to attack him when I open the door.
She’s a bed hog. For whatever reason she feels the need to be touching me at night. Unfortunately, that usually means she lays sideways across the bed with her head next to me. When a springer lays sideways, that leaves the human only a few inches of space on the edge of the bed. But I paid for the bed.
She refused to eat in the kitchen, where her food bowl is, if I leave the kitchen. She takes a mouthful of food, comes to whatever room I’m in, drops it on the floor and begins eating. This is fine on the occasions that she eats all of it. It’s not fine when she leaves one or two pieces, because Dog Chow hurts like heck when you step on it with bare feet in the middle of night when you going to get a drink of water.
And have I mentioned that springers shed. A lot.
Still, she’s my best friend. Plus, I’m healthier and happier having her around. Can’t argue with that.
It’s a scientific fact.
