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Can Vo
Jillian Moore Bennion
ENGL 1010
4/28/2016

Mans Best Friend

About a year ago, my wife and I decided that we wanted to adopt a puppy. We
wanted a puppy to add a new dimension to our life and experience the happiness a dog
can bring to a home. We began our research on finding the right places to adopt and
chose to adopt a puppy rather than purchasing one from a breeder because we wanted
to help pets that are in need. Approximately 7.6 million companion animals enter
shelters nationwide every year. Of those approximately 7.6 million, 3.9 million are dogs
and 3.4 million are cats. Only 2.7 million shelter animals are adopted every year and
another 2.7 million animals are euthanized. Of those euthanized 31 percent are dogs
and 41 percent are cats. They say that when you adopt a pet, you are not saving one
life, you are saving two. The one that you bring into your home, and the space that
opens up for another pet at the shelter.
We came across Community Animal Welfare Society (CAWS); CAWS is a
nonprofit animal rescue volunteer organization that was established in 1994, serving
Utah communities. We liked the fact that all animals from CAWS live in volunteer foster
homes until they are adopted and not in a shelters. This is better for the animals as they
get to be themselves and not locked in a cage most of the time. We were looking for a

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smaller dog that would enjoy outdoor activities with us. During the warmer months, my
wife and I love to take weekend camping trips to various locations that offer great hiking
and mountain biking experiences. Our little get away would be even better with a dog to
share the experiences with.
We looked through all the current dogs that were up for adoption living in various
different foster homes on the CAWS web site. Even though every single puppy we
looked at were amazing and adorable, we did not find one that was suitable for what we
wanted so instead of rushing to get a puppy, we waited until the right one come along.
After a few weeks of waiting, we were recommended a puppy, Chip, that had recently
come to CAWS. Chip was about 7 weeks old at the time and was an Australian Cattle
and Dachshund mix. We were a little skeptical at first with a Dachshund mix since
Dachshunds have long bodies with short stubby legs, which may not be optimal for long
and stamina-taxing biking trips. After looking at a few pictures of Chip that were
provided to us, we realized that Chip was a long legged dog with paws that were
unusually large for his size. His coat was a dark brown with spots of black and a white
stripe running down his neck and belly. Chip, having most of the body feature from the
Australian cattle dog gene, was estimated to be about 18 inches tall and would weigh in
at thirty to forty pounds when fully grown. After a little research on the Australian cattle
dog, we found they are cattle herding dog that can cover long distances across rough
terrain which was perfect for what we wanted in a dog for hiking and biking trips.
When the adoption process was completed and it was finally time for us to pick
Chip up from his foster home we were excited to finally get to see Chip in person and
bring him home with us. When we arrived at the foster home and rang the doorbell, an

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adult dachshund came running to the door. It had a brilliant black coat of fur which
seemed to shine under the sun light ray that penetrated through the glass door, and
giant ears that were flopping around as it was running to the door. What followed behind
it was a tiny brown puppy dog that appeared to be extremely energetic as it was running
around and jumping at the door, that must be Chip we both thought and it sure was.
Our first interaction with Chip was warm and delightful, Chip was exceptionally
friendly to us even though we were complete strangers to him. Chip was the type of dog
that would pounce on you, and lick and nibble you to death. During the short drive
home, we could tell that he was anxious either due to not knowing us yet or the car ride
itself. Once we arrived home, we found that Chip was always friendly and loved to
interact with people as he approached everyone in the house. Since Chip was still a
puppy, he was not house trained so he had numerous accidents during our two weeks.
A puppy needs to be let out so it can urinate approximately every hour since it cannot
hold its bladder at that young age. We developed the bell system in which a string of
bells hung by the door and when he needed to go outside he would ring the bells.
Within a few weeks, Chip was able to fully grasp the concept and would ring the bells
and lay by the door until he was let out.
We signed Chip up for puppy class once he was about 10 weeks old. At that
time, Chip did not know any commands and didnt listen to what we told him. We
attended class with Chip once a week, there were six other puppies in the class so it
was good to have Chip interact with other dogs. The first thing we were asked to teach
Chip was quite obvious but easily overlooked, that was his name. It is the foundation of
communicating since if he does not know what his name is, he would not know that we

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are asking something of him. Chip quickly learned all of the basic commands like come,
sit, off, leave it, and stay.
It is amazing how having a dog in your home can make it a brighter and happier
place, even if you have had a horrible day, your canine friend will always greet you with
joy as you come home. It has been proven through researches that there are many
benefits to having a dog. Dog owners are less likely to suffer from depression, have
better health, and provide positive development in children.
Pets owners, usually of cats and dogs are less likely to suffer from depression
than peoples without pets. If a person has limited social interaction and support, they
feel lonely and isolated. A pet can help decrease those feelings by providing
companionship to its owner. UCLA researchers found that men with AIDS who had
close attachments with pets were significantly less likely to suffer from depression than
men with AIDS who did not have a pet companion. Those who did not own a pet were
about three times more likely to have symptoms of depression while it is only about 50
percent if they are pet owners. "The benefit is especially pronounced when people are
strongly attached to their pets," Siegel said. A pet owner will also have a sense of
satisfaction and fulfillment while caring for the pet as it shows that they are capable of
the responsibility.
It is well known that those who are physically active have better health and
overall better quality of life. Dog owners walk or exercise with their dogs often and have
higher rates of physical activity compared to non-owners which in turn have a lower
body mass index than non-owners.

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An Australian study found that dog owners engaged in significantly more minutes of
physical activity (322.4 vs 267.1) and walking (150.3 vs 110.9) than non-owners.
Patients of cardiovascular disease who own dogs are strongly associated with
decreased mortality, with mortality being 4.05 times greater for non-dog owner than for
dog owners. A one-year survival research of patients who was admitted to a cardiac
care unit or intensive care unit for myocardial or angina pectoris mortality rate also
decreased for pet owners. 28 percent of patients who are non-owners had died
compared to only 6 percent of those who own pets.
There are many benefits for children who grow up in an environment that include
pets. A pet can help a child development in many different ways, positive feelings about
the pets can contribute to a childs self-esteem, self-confidence, and trusting
relationships. It can teach the child responsibility as they care for the pet, empathy as
they will able to learns about the pet needs, help develop social skills as children tend to
gather and have conversation with each others about the pet. A research by Matt
Cassels from University of Cambridge found that children who had a stronger
relationship with their pets had a higher level of prosocial behavior such as helping,
sharing, and co-operating than their peers. A child growing up with pets in their home
also have a less risk of developing allergies and asthma. Researcher at Henry Ford
Hospital found that teens who had cats or dogs during the first year of their life had 50
percent less chance of developing pet allergies.
Chip is finally at that age where we can trust him enough to listen to our
commands during hiking trips that make us feel comfortable to let him off leash. We will

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always take him hiking on leash the first few times if it is a new area that he has not
been to so he will know and be comfortable with the environment before going off leash.
A few weeks ago we took a camping trip to Zion National Park, during the day we went
mountain biking and took Chip along with us. He was amazing at running the trails and
seemed to enjoy it immensely. Chip is still pretty young and his endurance for long
distance is not up to par yet but it will change soon as we plan on doing a lot of
mountain biking with him this summer.
It has been almost a year now since we adopted Chip, he has been everything
we hoped for in a dog and much more. There is never a dull moment when he is
around, at times he will act like a knuckle head and test your patience but most of the
time he is calm and is a joy to be around. Sometimes when there is one of those days
that just seem like everything that could go wrong went wrong and I am in a horrible
mood, it does not matter what state of mind I would be in, as soon as I open the door
and Chip would come running with his tail wagging out of control and lick me furiously, it
just makes all the negative energy disappear and I am overcome with happiness.
Adopting Chip was one of the best decisions we made, ever since he came into our
home, it has been a happier place and Chip has helped strengthen our relationship
even more. In the near future, we will be looking to add another dog to our family, this
time we will probably be looking for an adult dog as a puppy requires a lot of work and
attention early on and we may not have the time and dedication to properly raise
another puppy. I think Chip will be ecstatic to have a big brother who he can play with
days and nights!

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Work Cited
Cutt H, Giles-Corti B, Knuiman M, Timperio A, Bull F. Understanding dog owners
increased levels of physical activity: results from RESIDE. Am J Public Health.
2008;98:66-69
Fick, KM. The influence of an animal on social interactions of nursing home residents in
group settings. American Journal of Occupational Therapy. 1993; Jun: 47(6):529-534.
Friedmann E. Thomas SA. Pet Ownership, social support, and one-year survival after
acute myocardial infarction in the Cardiac Arrhythmia Suppression Trial (CAST).Am J
Cardiol. 1995;76:1213-1217.
"Pet Statistics." ASPCA. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.
Simpson A, Custovic A. Pets and the development of allergic sensitization. Curr Allergy
Asthma Rep. 2005;5:21220.
University Of California, Los Angeles Health Sciences. "UCLA Researchers Find That
AIDS Patients Who Own Pets Are Less Likely To Suffer From Depression."ScienceDaily.
ScienceDaily, 6 May 1999.