Is Pet Friendly Health Friendly?
Is a pet-friendly city synonymous with a healthy city? Besides the joy brought by a wagging tail and a slobbery kiss, pets have proven to provide many health benefits to their owners and in other human interactions. Given this, would more dog parks and dog-friendly restaurants and shops make a city a healthier place?
One of the most important factors that accompanies pets is the increase in exercise amongst their owners. Often times it is easy to skip a nightly walk if it only affects yourself, but you wouldn’t dream of skipping out on your eager dog. In a study done by Gill Mein and Robert Grant across 6,575 participants aged 59–79, data shows that pet owners exhibited significantly higher rates of both mild and moderate exercise. Pets get people out and moving, and with that comes many of the cardiovascular benefits. Pet ownership is associated with health benefits such as a better 1-year survival rate after acute myocardial infarction and lower blood pressure responses to physiological stress (Parslow and Jorn). Pet ownership is also associated with lower rates of death by cardiovascular disease and stroke (Ogechi). All of this tells us that people that have pets exercise more and have fewer cardiovascular difficulties. I interviewed dog owner, Ally Darr, about her experience with having a dog and how this affected the amount of exercise she felt that she partook in. She said, “since I have such a large and active dog breed [Lab/Husky mix], I make sure I run her around almost every day. While I am so focused on making sure she gets the exercise she needs, I come in breathing just as hard as she does!” Having the feeling of responsibility for an animal forces people to be more active. In today’s sedentary lifestyle, something as simple as getting out and walking around can have huge impacts on peoples’ lives. Additionally, pet owners have 15% fewer doctor visits than non-pet owners (Headly).
Furthermore, pets can be associated with an increase in human interaction. By getting people to hang out in public spaces, they can be seen as a conduit for social capital. In a study done in Perth, Western Australia, pet ownership was found to be positively associated with some forms of social contact and interaction (Wood, Corti, Bulsara). Pets can provide potential interactions for social engagement, which is just one more way that they are making our cities healthier. Not only are pets getting us moving, but they are getting us interacting with other people as well. Places like dog parks, walking trails and other pet friendly locations are great ways for people to connect. An increase in pet-friendly places would further this engagement in social capital by giving pet owners a place to meet and engage with other citizens. One example of a popular pet-friendly establishment in Austin is a local bar called Yard Bar. This restaurant and bar is not just open to dogs, but actually encourages dogs as it functions as an off-leash dog park. I spoke with one of the managers here about how their openness to dogs has affected their consumer population. She responded, “Having dogs around has definitely increased the number of consumers that like pets. I think that since we are known for being a dog park as well, we have probably turned away some customers that may not be huge animal fans.” When I asked what kind of impact she felt that this had on the health of the city, she explained that having an openness to dogs and other pets “encourages people to get outside and participate in healthier activities.” Yard Bar is just one great example of how Austin is incorporating dog friendly activities into the city.
The New York Times ranked Austin 7th on a list of the pet-friendliest cities in the US. This included 21 variables including the pet-friendliness of the rental market, average home size, preponderance of single-family detached homes (how likely it is to have a yard for the dog), the cost per capita of veterinary care, local animal protection laws, the availability of dog parks and other outdoor spaces, and, the number of pet-friendly restaurants. For some people, having a pet-friendly city makes them more likely to get a dog. Dog owner, Kristen Peck, says that she was originally hesitant to get a dog while living in a big city, but the prevalence of parks and dog-friendly places around Austin made her feel like it was a reasonable commitment. She says, “I am not afraid to take my Golden Retriever to parks and outdoor restaurants because he is exposed to so many dogs around the area and people always get so excited.” Having dog-friendly places around a city isn’t just a positive for the dogs. Interacting with dogs is shown to release the same hormone as interacting with other people does. When two people mutually gaze at one another, oxytocin is released which causes the feeling of emotional bonding. This same hormone has been proven to be released when dogs and humans mutually gaze at one another (Nagasawa). Oxytocin is associated with feelings of affection and emotional connection and is the same hormone that is released when a mother is bonding with a newborn infant. This shows that dogs are not only beneficial to their owners, but having dogs in public spaces can also be beneficial to passersby. Having a greater number of pet-accessible parks and restaurants not only encourages people to get pets, but can also benefit those that are not pet-owners.
In my personal experience, living with dogs makes me want to be outside more. In the neighborhood that I live in, seeing people outside walking their dogs gives me feelings of safety and joy. Turns out, I am not alone in this feeling. In a study from the Journal of Social Science and Medicine, a larger number of dogs out and about in a neighborhood changes peoples’ perceptions of the friendliness of the neighborhood (Wood, Corti, Bulsara). In my experience, seeing dogs around makes people happier. Zilker Park is another characteristic park of Austin that is known for its openness to canine friends. The reason that this is one of the most visited spots in Austin is because of the way it blends the urban of the city with the nature aspect of the park. People come to get a break from the traffic and to spend some time with the sometimes hundreds of dogs running about. Instead of being crammed into a shopping mall or a restaurant, these parks offer people a place to step outside, enjoy the sunshine, and pet a furry friend. These common spaces are termed “multispecies collectivities” by professor Melanie J. Rock. She claims that a healthy city is one that is comprised of these multispecies collectivities because people, domesticated species and animals all share common quarters in the urban environment. Direct and indirect benefits on public health stem from policy on pet ownership in cities (Rock). She argues that in order to fully receive the health benefits of animals, cities need to have appropriate policies that allow sufficient human-animal interaction to occur.
Overall, pets are proven to be encouragers to our health. They force us to get out and get moving with their adoring eyes and excited yelps. They promote more frequent exercise, better overall cardiovascular health, and fewer doctor visits, while at the same time bringing us ceaseless companionship. Austin has proven to be one of the best in pet-friendliness, which allows us to travel with our pets and give us a greater platform for social interaction. Places like bars, restaurants and parks allow us to enjoy the company of our pets somewhere outside of our home, permitting others to experience our canine friends as well. So whether it be walking your own dog, or petting someone else’s, get out and get moving.
Works Cited
Headley B, Grabka M. Pets and Human health in Germany and Australia: National longitudinal results. Soc Indic Res. 2007;80:297–311. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205–005-5072-z.
Kolomatsky, M. (2017, September 21). The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/21/realestate/the-most-pet-friendly-cities-in-the-united-states.html
Mein, G., & Grant, R. (2018). A cross-sectional exploratory analysis between pet ownership, sleep, exercise, health and neighborhood perceptions: The Whitehall II cohort study. BMC Geriatrics. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-018-0867-3
Nagasawa, M., Mitsui, S., En, S., Ohtani, N., Ohta, M., Sakuma, Y., Onaka, T., Mogi, K. andKikusui, T.(2015). Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds. Science (80-.) 348, 333–336. doi:10.1126/science.1261022
Ogecihi I, Snook K, Davis BM, Hansen AR, Liu F, Zhang J. Pet ownership and the risk of Dying from cardiovascular disease among adults with major chronic medical conditions. High Blood Press Cardivasc Prev 2016; 23:245–253.
Parslow RA, Jorm AF. Pet ownership and risk factors for cardiovascular disease: another look. The Medical journal of Australia. 2003;179:466–468. [PubMed
Rock, M.J., Adams, C.L., Degeling, C., Massolo, A. & McCormack, G.R. (2014) Policies on pets for healthy cities: a conceptual framework, Health Promotional International,Apr 2, doi:10.1093/heapro/dau017
Wood L., Giles-Corti B. and Bulsara M. (2005). The pet connection: Pets as a conduit for social capital?. Social Science & Medicine 61(6): 1159–1173
