The Power of Pets
The title of this post comes from The Power of the Dog and How Pets are Helping Ukrainians Cope with War, by Fernando Alfonso III (3/12/2022 NPR).
“The positive impact pets can have on people going through tumult cannot be overstated,” said Lauren Powell, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine.
Pets can provide companionship, help reduce feelings of loneliness, and boost feel-good hormones, such as oxytocin, Powell told NPR . . . . Pets can also help decrease our biological response to stress by lowering our stress hormones, relaxing our heart rate and blood pressure, she said.
This is not news to me, or, I’d venture to guess, to anyone else with pets.
Three years later, an 8/26/2025 NPR article by Nathan Rott came to a similar conclusion in A Lesson Learned after Pets were Left Behind in Hurricane Katrina: Save the Animals. Rott explains:
It's estimated that between 150,000 and 200,000 people didn't evacuate ahead of or during [Hurricane Katrina]. A poll conducted by the Fritz Institute in the months after Katrina found that nearly half of the people surveyed who didn't evacuate actually stayed because of a pet.
"We heard a lot of stories about helicopter rescues from rooftops where there's floodwaters all around the house and the people are on the roof with their pets and the helicopters would come to rescue them and say, 'No, you can't bring your pets,' and the people would just stay," Covey said.
The article also says:
The images and stories of animal suffering, and of people forced to make the heart-wrenching decision of leaving a pet or service animal behind, shocked the nation. And in 2006, just over a year after the storm, federal lawmakers passed a law — the Pet Evacuation & Transportation Safety (PETS) Act — incentivizing states and agencies to include pets in their disaster planning.
"If there is a silver lining in Hurricane Katrina — there's so many terrible things that happened — it was that it changed how the country, to this day, considers the role of animals in our communities," said Ana Zorrilla, chief executive officer of the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
"To make sure that people are safe," Zorrilla said, "we have to take care of animals too."
Maybe you, like me, are lucky enough not to live in a war-torn region, or an area ravaged by severe weather events, or famine, or any other catastrophe affecting a whole region. Still, you may be distressed by political divisions and the destruction of civil rights not only in the US but in so many other countries, as well. Or our inability as a species to take meaningful action to protect the earth that sustains us. Or maybe it’s “just” work, financial concerns, children, parents, health, or any of the other myriad difficulties we all face.
What to do?
My friend, marvelous author and writing coach Charlotte Rains Dixon, suggests we use the gifts we have, and help right where we are. (Her advice is the main reason I am sharing stories in which animals are, ultimately, the heroes—I can’t fix war or famine, but I can write stories . . . .)
So here’s my thought: if you have a dog, or some other pet, go soak up some of those oxytocin-boosts. Right now, before you come up with a hundred things you have to do first.
If you know someone who is struggling but who doesn’t have a pet, invite them* over to share some of those feel-good hormones. (*Inclusive pronoun intentional)
If you have no pet, find a friend who does, and ask if you can borrow some happiness.
Who knows? Maybe we can start a chain reaction,
dominoes of puppy-love (and kitty- and goat- and hamster-love)
stretching all the way from wherever you are
into the hearts of those waging war,
and suddenly there will be
an outbreak of peace.
It’s worth a try.
In support of that effort, here are a few of the dog photos you’ve shared with me over the last few years.
Gallery, from left to right: Geni "Branch Manager," from Jette in Washington; Glori, Miracle Dog, from Jan in Washington (much love to her spirit as she recently left us); Wonder, from Lesa in New York (@lesaqualeferguson is an extraordinary photographer, in addition to being a wonderful writer, hence the fantastic photo); Rosie from Jed in Oregon; Heidi Ho, from Capi in Oregon; Diva and friend from Sky and Skipper in Oregon; George and his best friend from Teri in Oregon (oh how I miss George, who passed a few months ago—such a sweet and cheerful spirit); Daisy Mae from Bryttani in Washington; Jake, from Amanda in Massachusetts.
If you’d like to add a photo to this mix, send your photos to me at sharilaneauthor@gmail.com. If you tell me the name(s) and a funny/sweet story, I’ll share that too. (And if you’ve already shared a photo but don’t see it here, it’s likely because I’ve shared it in earlier Substack posts, or because your photo was or will be featured in an episode of The Dogs of Looser Island.)
Last but not least, you can help save our non-human friends, so they can continue saving us, by donating to a local animal protection society and/or one of the many international organizations dedicated to that cause. Two options among many:
Our non-human family thanks you!