If you know me, you'll know how much I love my dog.
For a bit of information, my dog is Louis Lee (pronounced like Louie, like Louis Vuitton). He was born on January 27, 2020, and we adopted him in March 2020, right before Quarantina hit. He's a mini golden doodle; for any pics, you can follow him on Instagram @louis.__.lee (shameless plug, I know). As the youngest of the family before Louis came along, I begged my parents for a younger sibling. However, my parents felt they couldn't take care of a third child as their business had just started to take off.
Baby Gio (me) had a hard time accepting this fate, but after 18 years, my mom asked if our family would want to get a dog. Although I knew a dog wasn't the same as a human sibling, I was still ecstatic. And after one week, Louis found his forever home. Because of Louis, our family had so much fun during the coronavirus. Teaching him new tricks, taking him on walks, and playing with him in our backyard would take up the whole day. We were so busy having fun with Louis that we never felt confined in our house. Through my dog, I learned what it meant to love someone unconditionally. When I met my dog, I loved him the moment I saw him. I didn't know exactly why I loved him, but I knew we would become inseparable when I saw his precious face. And I know that other dog owners would feel the same way.
You may now wonder what point I'm trying to reach.
So I'll be direct: you should get a dog.
As you've read how Louis has impacted my life, I'm 100% sure that getting a dog for you will also do the same as it did for me. However, if my life story with my dog wasn't enough for you, here are some benefits of raising a dog.
- Dogs relieve your stress as they can be your comfort buddy. Just by petting a familiar dog, your blood pressure and heart rate will decrease, and your tense muscles will be relieved.
- Dogs make you more active. A study showed that dog owners are nearly four times more likely to meet daily physical activity guidelines than non-dog owners.
- Dogs make you happier. Just by looking at your dog, it can raise your oxytocin levels, which are also known as the 'love hormone.'
- Dogs make you more social, as walking your dog makes you more approachable and makes a good conversation starter. Research shows that about 40% of dog owners have an easier time making friends.
- Dogs make you feel less isolated. As loyal beings, dogs offer unconditional love, cuddles, and support to reduce loneliness, even when people cannot be there for you.
Since Louis entered our family, my faith in God has strengthened. It all seems too good to be true for it to be a coincidence. Being able to raise a dog after my mom mentioned it once (when I’d asked for a dog for years before) and picking our dog up just before quarantine all seemed too good to be true. Because I could find God through Louis, I've become happier and want to share my happiness with others. So, to anyone reading this, get a dog; you won't regret it!
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.