Ah dogs – wonderful life-enhancing creatures. Whatever you do, whoever you are, they offer you limitless, unconditional love, so no wonder the link between dogs and good mental health is so strong.
There’s something rather lovely happening at Sussex University at the moment. because they’ve realised just how good it can be for their students to be around dogs. University can be a tough environment sometimes, with the transition contributing to loneliness, anxiety, stress and depression. Everything that is familiar and loved is far away, including the family dog. One undergraduate borrowed a dog because she felt homesick, and from that grew the Dog Walking Society, which now has over 300 human members, and 45 doggy ones.
The Sussex Uni Dog Walking Society may not be available to us all, but dog walking is. If you’re feeling stressed or anxious about something – or feeling lonely – perhaps lacking your usual get up and go – how about finding a dog to walk? You don’t have to own a dog to walk one and benefit enormously. Borrow my Doggy is a public version of the Dog Walking Society, and you can search for the perfect dog to walk in your area. A young friend of mine moved to Oxford recently, and immediately found a dog to walk. The dog has a devoted list of walkers, all of whom adore him and love taking him out.
Absolutely everyone benefits. The dogs’ owners are ecstatic that the dogs get a good walk; the dogs have a wonderful time roaring about with their doggy pals; and the students get fresh air, exercise, company (both canine and human), lots of doggy love and the sure knowledge that they’re helping others.
The Cinnamon Trust is always looking for people to walk the dogs of elderly or ill owners. They would greet a volunteer walker with open arms (and a wildly wagging tail).
You don’t even need to have a dog, borrowed or otherwise, to walk with dogs. A wonderful dog-owning friend has invited me to join the Mighty Dog Walking Group near Devizes, and I look forward to some muddy, companionable walks with them. I no longer have a dog – my one and only beloved boy died 9 years ago and I’ll never have another one – but I can still relish the joy that walking with a dog brings.
New
