R. Lee Zasloff

Loneliness and Pet Ownership among Single Women

Relationships among loneliness, pet ownership, and attachment were studied in a sample of 148 adult female students, 59 pet owners and 89 nonowners. No significant differences were found on the loneliness reported by pet owners and nonowners. A two by two analysis of variance showed that women living entirely alone were significantly more lonely than those living with pets only, with both other people and pets, and with other people but without pets. No associations were found between loneliness and pet attachment. Also, no significant differences were found in loneliness or pet attachment scores between dog and cat owners; however, women living only with a dog were significantly more attached to the dog than those living with both a dog and other people. Conversely, women living only with a cat were significantly less attached to the cat than those living with both a cat and other people. These findings indicate that having a pet can help to diminish feelings of loneliness, particularly for women living alone, and compensate for the absence of human companionship.

Measuring attachment to companion animals: a dog is not a cat is not a bird

Although the literature on human-animal interactions has documented the physical, psychological, and social benefits resulting from positive relationships with dogs, cats, and other kinds of companion animals, many attachment instruments include items that pertain to specific kinds of interactions with dogs. For this reason, dog owners attain higher scores on these measures than owners of cats and other types of pets. This study introduces a scale for measuring attachment in terms of the perceived comfort received from a pet. A sample of 87 cat owners and 58 dog owners completed the Comfort from Companion Animals Scale. The results showed that, when two items pertaining to dogs were included, dog owners showed a significantly higher degree of attachment. When only the 11 items pertaining to the emotional nature of the relationship were included, however, there were no differences in the scores of the two groups. The results indicate the importance of clarifying both the commonalities and differences of human interactions with various companion animal species.

Companion cats and the social support systems of men with AIDS.

60 male pet owners with AIDS were given a formal questionnaire including items related to demographic, lifestyle, and pet ownership, as well as the Comfort from Companion Animals Scale, the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). The men lived in the San Francisco area and received assistance from Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS), a community organization, in caring for their companion dogs or cats. Participants were a convenience sample of pet owners who volunteered from among 500 PAWS clients and who do not necessarily represent a random sample of men with AIDS who keep companion animals. For these men, their comfort from companion animals was significantly associated with having cats but not dogs, closeness with friends, dissatisfaction with their practical support system, and listing pets as a source of support. Loneliness was negatively associated with having a large practical support network, scoring as healthy on the General Health Questionnaire, and living alone. For these male pet owners with AIDS, pet cats appeared to complement their supportive relationships with friends and family that were protective against loneliness.

The socializing role of hearing dogs

The relationships between hearing dog ownership and the owners’ levels of loneliness, changes in social interactions with people, and life stress were studied retrospectively by questionnaire in a sample of 38 hearing dog owners and a control group of 15 prospective owners. The hearing dogs fulfilled the owners’ primary expectation of alerting them to sounds. A sense of security, their second highest concern, was also addressed. Owners felt safer when they were alone with their hearing dog than before obtaining one. Companionship was the third-rated reason for acquiring the dog and owners reported being significantly less lonely after receiving a hearing dog (P < 0.01). Most owners and prospective owners described a role of the hearing dog as changing interactions within the family. Owners also felt that the dogs changed their interactions with the hearing community and neighbors, whereas few prospective owners foresaw this effect of the dog (P < 0.01). Apparently stemming from the disability being more obvious, owners also scored lower on a life stress score than prospective owners (P < 0.02).

Developmental Factors in Positive Attitudes toward Zoo Animals

Research suggests that attitudes toward animals are established through childhood experiences. Currently, educational wildlife experiences for most urban children are available only at zoos and wildlife parks. To clarify the cognitive and emotional effects of distance, visibility, and tactile stimulation generated by various ways of exhibiting animals, 308 parents and their 3- to 7-year-old children were interviewed in Main Zoo and Petting Zoo areas. Children at Petting Zoos spent more time watching, touching, and talking to the animals than at Main Zoos, demonstrating that, even when live animals are very close and visible, children are significantly more interested when they can touch, pet, or cuddle. Parents felt that touching and petting were extremely important in teaching respect and appreciation for all animal life.

Dog training as a violence prevention tool for at-risk adolescents

Abstract Humane education programs often target at-risk children and seek to teach empathy and gentleness with animals, but few of these have been assessed. This prospective, longitudinal study examined the effects of “Teaching Love and Compassion” (TLC), a humane education program employing educational group discussions and dog training for seventh-grade, inner city youth in Los Angeles, California. The TLC program is offered to groups of 10 to 12 students during their three-week vacation at the year-round school. Students for the experimental and control groups were selected from the pool of those scoring below the 25th percentile in reading and mathematics. The study, conducted over a two-year period, assessed four successive sessions, comprising an experimental group of 41 children and a control group of 42 children. In morning sessions, the experimental group had discussions focusing on interpersonal issues and conflict management. In the afternoons they were taught the proper care and obedience training of shelter dogs. Pre-, post-, and follow-up tests, specially developed to accommodate the childrens reading ability and scheduling constraints, were given to both the experimental and control groups to assess their knowledge of animal care, conflict management skills, attitudes toward self and others, and fear of dogs. Members of the experimental group increased their understanding of pet care and the needs of animals and retained this information more than did the control group for all four TLC sessions, both at post-testing (F=58.4, p=0.0001) and follow-up testing (F=18.9, p=0.0001). At post-testing, the experimental group showed a trend toward a decreased fear of dogs (F=3.6, p=0.062), that was significant at follow-up testing (F=4.2, p=0.019). For these children who are exposed to daily violence and aggression to people and animals, these modest changes were associated with the three-week intervention.

The Role of Police Dogs as Companions and Working Partners

Written responses to a questionnaire by 255 officers who used canines in police work were assessed. Almost all officers frequently played with, talked to, petted, and brushed their dogs and believed the dogs benefitted their health and well-being. Officers whose dogs slept indoors, often in the same bedroom, generally said they loved their dogs and they described their dogs as calm rather than active, as indicated by a multiple correspondence analysis. These 96 officers more than the 154 officers whose dogs slept outdoors or in kennels also planned to remain in canine work. Although departments often assumed responsibility for purchasing the dogs, the more experienced officers usually were involved in the final selection of dogs (logistic regression: p <. 0001). Compared with 94 officers not involved in selecting their dogs, 106 officers with a specific role in selecting their dogs planned to stay in canine work, as shown by a multiple correspondence analysis. They believed the dogs had saved their lives (p <. 01). Over-all, officers reported spending 4.1 hr. on-duty and 2.9 hr. off-duty per week training their dogs, and also played with them for 6.5 hr. per week, assuring a regular pattern of exercise for the officers. Virtually all officers valued canine service and believed the dogs enhanced the departments effectiveness. This study showed that both close companionship with the dog and involvement in selecting the dog were associated both with satisfaction with the dog and with working as a canine officer.