{"id":49283,"date":"2020-12-23T10:55:21","date_gmt":"2020-12-23T09:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?p=49283"},"modified":"2021-01-05T15:23:22","modified_gmt":"2021-01-05T14:23:22","slug":"happy-covid-christmasits-a-dogs-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/12\/23\/happy-covid-christmasits-a-dogs-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy covid Christmas\u2026it\u2019s a dog\u2019s life"},"content":{"rendered":"

We have likely spent too much of 2020 believing our own thoughts, and striving to prove ourselves right. This unscientific tik was also on display when one of our family members pleaded for a pandemic puppy. The parent (who shall remain nameless) thought too much about how the dog would upset their manicured life and not enough about why their child craved a companion. The nay-sayer in question (alright it was Peter) was tone-deaf, and, when we finally did get a puppy, he was also delightfully wrong. This end-of-year report is about how a pet, and not a publication or presentation, was the unexpected highlight of a forgettable and unforgettable year. It is a seasonal reminder of how doctors don\u2019t have all the answers, or even all the right questions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Moose, the Magnificent<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Our respective families both recently acquired family dogs, and both of us had doubts beforehand. However, Moose (the magnificent) and Chester (the cuddler) will undoubtedly make our Christmases warmer, and our houses more like homes. It no longer matters that our residences contain doggy hair and dodgy smells: it is a small price for 2020 joy. The literature suggests that dog owners live longer and experience greater wellbeing, cardiovascular health, mental health, and less loneliness. [1,2] Dogs may also strengthen communities and keep the vulnerable safe (\u201cwe should check in on her, she normally walks the dog every day\u201d). In hospitals and care homes, pets help patients and staff to feel less institutionalized. However, let\u2019s face it, the literature says lots of things. This annus horribilis<\/em> has shown how easily ideas can be twisted and mangled. This is why we need to remain vigilant to bias and blinkers, including our own.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Chester, the cuddler<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This year we didn\u2019t just became dog owners, we recommitted to the scientific method. During covid-19 it is worth remembering that science is not a fixed set of facts. Instead it is one of humanity\u2019s best strategies for ensuring data shouts louder than politics. Science is the best single way forward, but it isn\u2019t tailor-made for questions of happiness and contentment. Therefore, brace yourself this holiday season, as we dare to discuss our feelings and our pets in a medical journal. Scheduled programmes will resume after these important messages. We shall temporarily relax our quest for immutable biomedical truth, and not \u201cdraw your attention to the Y-axis\u201d\u2014or whatever else we say during turgid lectures. In the n=2 study of Moose and Chester, let\u2019s simply acknowledge that rational adults can learn lots from irrational fur balls.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Being a dog owner has not only been a delight, it\u2019s been an eye-opening experiment. For example, we thought we knew our neighbours. Turns out, we had never even met half of the street. The reason is because they, and we, previously rushed by with our heads elsewhere. We now stop to say \u201chi\u201d and to compare pooch stories. People who we previously assumed standoffish, are often quite happy to stop so that dogs can meet and sniff bums (do we look, do we look away?). You then have your excuse to converse and share a smile. Social awkwardness is overcome with \u201cwhat\u2019s his\/her name?\u201d \u201chow old, and what breed?\u201d If we\u2019re not careful we might start to care about each other.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By the second walk you tip your hat and offer a grin. By meeting-three you contemplate an invite to tea, but only, of course, \u201cto allow the dogs to play\u201d. Before becoming dog-people we thought many owners were indulgent and misguided. We now appreciate that many are hardy and selfless. After all, they venture out in the rain and the snow, and attend to another\u2019s needs. The big truth is that most people are nice if you just give them the time of day. Strange that it took a dog to help us understand humans.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Walking the dog started out as an inconvenience. It is still an imperative, but it is also a therapeutic leg stretch and brain rest. It is too easy to be busy and self-obsessed. In contrast, \u201cdoing little\u201d is an artform whose time has come. Having a dog has made it easier to receive the gift of an ordinary day and to find time for others: not a bad thing during covid-19. As outlined in Christopher Ryan\u2019s bestseller \u201cCivilized to Death\u201d the modern world is impressive, but it has also perverted how we live, feel, work, play, and interact. [3] It may be easier to rectify these faults using a dog\u2019s eye view.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pets reconnect us to simple pleasures. So many cultures have words for this deficit that it must be part of what humans crave. The Danish and Norwegian talk of hygge and lykke (coziness, conviviality, well-being). The Dutch have niksen (doing something just for the fun of it). The Swedes have lagom (moderation), the Bulgarians aylyak (idleness), and the French have their <\/span>fl\u00e2neur <\/span>(or wanderers). These are innate needs that we might otherwise dismiss. Even if doctors don\u2019t formally prescribe pets (\u201ctake two dog-walks and call me in the morning\u201d), they might just counter what the Finnish call <\/span>kalsarik\u00e4nni<\/span> or <\/span>p\u00e4ntsdrunk<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>namely, the tendency to stay home in your underwear and drink alcohol. Fortunately, pets don\u2019t judge or post pictures. [4]<\/span><\/p>\n

Science matters mightily, especially in 2020. However, this year pets were fundamental to keeping people in nature, caring about our communities, and simply able to \u201cchill\u201d. Philosophers such as Cicero and Voltaire argued centuries ago that if you have a garden and a library then you likely have all you really need. Like good science, that advice has endured because it stands the test of time, and tells us who we really are. Regardless, while in Voltaire\u2019s garden, it could be even more fun to throw a stick. In Cicero\u2019s library it would be extra special with an animal lying at your feet. We accept that our pets will not last our whole lives but, especially this year, they have made our lives more whole. Also, this Christmas we want to thank our kids for proving us \u201cknow-it-alls\u201d wrong\u2014but no, you can\u2019t have a cat.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Peter Brindley<\/strong>, <\/span>Department of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain <\/span>Medicine, and the Dosseter Ethics Centre, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.\u00a0<\/span>Scholar, Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies. Twitter @docpgb<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Matt Morgan<\/strong>, h<\/span>onorary senior research fellow at Cardiff University, consultant in intensive care medicine, research and development lead in critical care at University Hospital of Wales, and an editor of BMJ OnExamination. <\/span>Twitter: @dr_mattmorgan<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

References:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/healthypets\/health-benefits\/index.html<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n
  2. https:\/\/www.bmj.com\/content\/331\/7527\/1252<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n
  3. https:\/\/www.simonandschuster.com\/books\/Civilized-to-Death\/Christopher-Ryan\/9781451659115<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n
  4. https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pantsdrunk<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    We have likely spent too much of 2020 believing our own thoughts, and striving to prove ourselves right. This unscientific tik was also on display when one of our family […]<\/p>\n

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