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A new study has found no evidence of a lasting impact of pandemic pet ownership on human wellbeing.
Humans and their pets, a match made in heaven? Does adopting a new dog make you happier and less lonely?
A new study challenges the belief in a universal ‘pet effect’ on human wellbeing.
Using data collected during COVID-19 lockdowns, researchers found no significant change in respondents’ wellbeing when they acquired or lost a pet in their household.
The findings suggest that, even during a time of extreme isolation, human-animal bonds may not be as emotionally transformative as we like to believe.
It is now commonplace to associate pet ownership with health and happiness for the human and the animal.
Still, science has had a hard time pinning down the ‘pet effect’ – a hypothesised boost in life quality for those who surround themselves with cats, dogs, or other companion animals.
Only a few years ago, circumstances presented us with a severe test of the importance of human-animal bonds – a global pandemic, COVID-19, which confined people to their homes, cutting them off from face-to-face contact in both work and personal life.
Researchers at ELTE Eötvös Loránd University have examined how pet acquisition and loss were experienced during the pandemic and the short- and long-term effects of acquiring a pet on the participants.
Eniko Kubinyi, head of the MTA-ELTE ‘Momentum’ Companion Animals Research Group, said: “Through a collaboration with a psychologist team led by Zsolt Demetrovics and Róbert Urbán, we had access to a unique data set.
“During the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns, almost 3,000 people across Hungary participated three times in data collection, several months apart.
“We noticed that 65 people acquired a pet and 75 lost one during the study, and decided to investigate how their wellbeing changed over time.”
Image credit: Jem Pulishing Ltd.
Short-lived boost
The researchers found little support for the romanticised view we hold of pet owners and their emotional wellbeing.
A short-lived boost in cheerfulness appeared after acquiring a dog, however, in the long run, dog owners’ calmness, life-satisfaction, cheerfulness, and activity had gone down.
Most surprisingly, the researchers found that losing a pet did not leave a mark on the wellbeing of their former owners.
Ádám Miklósi, who initiated the data collection on companion animals, emphasised: “We rarely have access to data that documents spontaneous pet acquisition from people unbiased in their attitude toward pet ownership.
“Usually, pet lovers are identified and studied when the decision to adopt an animal is already settled.
“It appears that, at least during stressful periods, the average person, who may not be the primary caregiver but simply shares a household with the pet, is not significantly affected by the pet’s loss, nor is their wellbeing a strong predictor of the decision to acquire one.”
Judit Mokos, a data scientist and one of the paper’s first authors, said: “What surprised me most was that a new pet in the household had no effect on the respondents’ loneliness.
“Dog adoption is often promoted as a solution for elderly and/or lonely people. Shelters and pet food companies promote adoption as a means of alleviating loneliness.
“However, our research suggests that dogs do not provide a real solution to loneliness; rather, they make the new owners more anxious.”
Kubinyi concluded: “Based on the data, most people, living together with a companion animal, do not seem to experience any long-term ‘pet effect’, nor do they bond strongly with their animal.
“It is possible that the dynamics of the pandemic have led many to make impulsive choices against their long-term interest, or that only certain groups – like devoted animal lovers or older adults living alone – truly benefit from pets in stressful times.”
It appears that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the emotional bonds people formed with animals often fell short of expectations.
The study is published in Scientific Reports.
