Woof Woof

 Ever feel tired, stressed, and overwhelmed throughout a long and tedious day of school or work? It doesn't help it any more when you feel this type of way and you go home to an empty house. There are so many more benefits associated with owning a pet dog than just having a furry companion that eats, sleeps, and poop. These friendly companions provide us with many important life lessons as they grow and develop alongside their owner. According to an article published by Accredited Online Schools, "Should Students Have Pets?, by Shelley Zansler, states that people who have spent time with domestic animals have likely experienced some of the immediate benefits pets can bring, however, there can also be drawbacks to keeping pets, especially for college students. She gives readers insights that these furry companions provide students with a mental health boost, dogs encourage exercise, they assist in making friends, and they provide constant companionship throughout any given time period. 

According to a 2017 report by the American College Health Association, college students report high rates of stress, loneliness, anxiety, and depression. Studies have further shown that pets can increase people's levels of oxytocin, a hormone that reduces anxiety, and lowers blood pressure, by 300 percent. 

Additionally, owning a pet dog teaches responsibilities and allows the owner to understand what true unconditional love actually is. 

In my opinion, I feel as though most of the time the responsibilities and care taking aspect of owning a dog greatly gets overlooked because of all the fun and cheerful moments that the dog will bring in the future. Dogs provide unconditional love to their owners in the sense that they will always remain by your side until the end of their lifetime, these little furry companions rely on you for their care and nurturing and they in return will also provide you with unconditional love, happiness, and memories that will last a lifetime depending on how you care for him/her!

One thing that I wanted to emphasize before pursuing ownership of a dog is to research and understand the tremendous amount of time commitment that is required in order to take care of these little guys. While pets are a huge responsibility, they are also a huge expense, the costs of routine expenses, food, litter, grooming supplies, and health care costs would be a detrimental blow to those who underestimate the costs of having a pet. Additionally, students have to also account for their own stressful schedules; school may not be an easy task to some and adding ownership of a dog to some may mean also adding onto the list of more responsibilities in the student life of studying and preparing for exam weeks. Without taking notice and account of these things prior to ownership as a student, it possibly leads to health detriments to the dog due to improper exercise and staying locked up all day.