Kid’s Best Friend

Last week, “A Dog’s Purpose” was released in theaters. The movie—which “shares the soulful and surprising story of one devoted dog who finds the meaning of his own existence through the lives of the humans he teaches to laugh and love”—has gotten mixed reviews, and I haven’t seen it yet, but the commercials have been making me miss my old dog for weeks.

A recent study shows that I, and the 75% of “A Dog’s Purpose” viewers, might not be alone in our undying devotion to our childhood pets. The study, conducted by the University of Cambridge, highlighted “the importance of early adolescents’ pet relationships” as “participants derived more satisfaction and engaged in less conflict with their pets than with their siblings.”

At this point, you may be shaking your head in disappointment that the study came to what might be considered an obvious conclusion—one’s pet rarely participated in a rivalry, siblings, however, probably did. My dog, for one, was not known to bicker. Researchers believe the fact that “pets cannot understand or talk back,” may be “a benefit as it means they are completely non-judgmental,” allowing for levels of disclosure that might not be possible with a sibling.

According to Nancy Gee, Human-animal Interaction Research Manager at WALTHAM and a co-author of the study, understanding the “social support that adolescents receive from pets” may help us understand and promote the positive benefits of a pet’s influence during adolescence on “psychological well-being later in life.”

The study, which involved 77 12-year-olds, measured child-pet relationships using “a pet adaptation” of the Network of Relationships Inventory (NRI). The NRI traditionally assesses relationship characteristics “such as companionship, conflict, instrumental aid, satisfaction, antagonism, intimacy, nurturance, affection, punishment, admiration, relative power, and reliable alliance for each type of relationship.”

Researchers drew conclusions about the difference between male and female interactions with pets, finding that “girls reported more intimate disclosure, companionship, and conflict with their pet than did boys” despite both genders being “equally satisfied” with their pets. These findings seem to contradict previous research that found “boys report stronger relationships with their pets than girls do.” In addition, owners of dogs reported greater satisfaction than owners of other kinds of pets.

So, whether you liked “A Dog’s Purpose” or not, it seems that pets really do have the potential to live forever in our minds and emotions—if not through reincarnation.