Happy tales of tails a-wagging Woman's best (boy) friend? You know I love any excuse to write about dogs. Of course, they're my favorite animals, and I love my own dear pups, Silky and Hannibal, as much as life itself. And today, man's (and woman's) best friend is in the news, so I get to write about one of my favorite subjects… It begins with this: According to a recent MSNBC article, women would prefer that men were more like dogs-and vice versa! A new survey of 1000 U.S. adults conducted by the American Kennel Club (AKC), 34% of the women in the survey agreed with the statement "If my dog were a man, he'd be my boyfriend." I guess this means that a good percentage of women feel like their dogs are an indispensable part of their lives, a loving being they can spend time with and shower with affection… Beyond this, a full 90% of the survey's respondents wished their real-life boyfriends had at least one endearing attribute they find in their dogs. What kind of attributes? Well, according to the survey, women dog-owners wished their boyfriends were: - Perennially in a good mood (like pooches)
- Always willing to spend time together
- Always up for quality "couch time"
- Enthusiastic about exercising
- Less apt to complain about what's for dinner
Also, sources citied in the article maintain that a dog's inability to talk (argue?) may be central to their appeal to many women - probably many men, too. Interestingly enough, it wasn't only the women-folk who wished their mates were more dog-like. According to the survey's male respondents, men wished their girlfriends were more apt to shower them with affection when they come in the door (licks to the face weren't mentioned), and that they wouldn't care if sports were always on the TV! Hmmm. All these sound like things ANYONE would want in a mate, male or female. Perhaps dogs really are the perfect human companion… Except my wife - now, SHE'S the perfect companion. She's also reading this. And in more dog-loving news… **************************************************** Canine therapy I've written before about the therapeutic power of pooches. They've been helping sick people feel better for a long time… But here's some surprising news: A recent study showed that senior citizens who spent time alone with a friendly dog felt less lonely afterward than when other PEOPLE were involved in the visit! The research, conducted at 3 area nursing homes in St. Louis by staffers at both Washington University and St. Louis University, found that among those residents who'd requested visits with a dog, the ones who visited one-on-one with the pooch 1 to 3 times weekly registered significant reductions in loneliness, as measured by some test called the UCLA Loneliness Scale. Those residents (the "control" group) who had the same amount of "canine therapy," but with other people present, recorded only slight reductions in loneliness. According to the AP piece I learned all this from, the next phase in the research will involve similar tests, but with a ROBOTIC DOG! Preliminary research in Japan (where else?) looks encouraging, according to the piece… But to me, it'd be a bit of a stretch if "man's best friend" needed batteries to bark. Fetching the canine news, not stretching it, William Campbell Douglass II, MD | 
