Heroin users who have a pet are more likely to complete their treatment and stay off drugs, according to one expert.
“The bond is really a physiological relationship we have with our animals, as well as a very emotional one,” said Connie Varnhagen, president of the Alberta Helping Animals Society.
Varnhagen will join other speakers at Gone to the Dogs, a one-day symposium at the University of Alberta on Friday studying the relationship between owners and their pets.
According to Varnhagen, clients she’s spoken with through the non-profit have reported greater success in addictions treatment when they’ve had a companion pet alongside them.
As to why, she said a number of physiological changes occur in humans when they’re connected to an animal.
“They're bonded in terms of hormones, such as oxytocin and cortisol, and physiological measures, such as heart rate, blood pressure. They get into sync with each other,” she said.
Even being in the same room as a pet can lower blood pressure and increase dopamine levels for both the animal and the human, she said.
Varnhagen helped establish Alberta Helping Animals Society, which is a non-profit that supports the human-animal bond between vulnerable people living in Edmonton.
Vulnerable people who earn a lower income usually experience more emotional support from their pooches than those earning more, Varnhagen said.
“(Dogs) are probably the sole source of social support they have,” she explained. “They've lost their friends, they've lost their family, they have nothing else.”
She said animals – like dogs – often provide unconditional love, which helps promote a sense of well being in the owner. Every pet, that is, except the household cat.
Dogs have traditionally been used as companions to humans, whether as hunting partners or working on the farm. Cats, on the other hand, have been used to catch rodents before they could destroy the crop.
“It's a different relationship,” she said.
During Friday’s symposium, Varnhagen will be joined by over a dozen other speakers focused on the bond between dogs and humans.
Doug Gross, one of the organizers of the symposium, said he hopes people will leave with a greater understanding of that connection.
Gross, who is a physical therapist, said he’s noticed in his own work the impact dogs have had on chronic pain within humans.
“I've been ... educating people about the importance of activity and exercising despite pain,” he said. “It's not intuitive to get up and go for a walk, or to exercise when you're in pain.”
Gross is currently conducting a pilot project surveying people in pain who have pets, versus those who don’t. So far, the data has shown that people are more likely to get active with a pet.
This is the first symposium of its kind, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive, Gross said. He’s most excited for networking opportunities at the event, where people from the community can meet researchers in the field.
The free event takes place on Friday in Room 2-29 at Corbett Hall in the University of Alberta, and runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information visit: https://www.ualberta.ca/arts/events/arts/49ddgaleasslbghpbi9kfnvs1u
