Dogs need friends too … Just as it’s important for humans to have social connections, the same holds true for dogs. A new study from the Dog Aging Project found that dogs with more social connections – other dogs in the home or even other pets, like a cat -- were healthier than dogs who had no social interactions with other animals. In fact, the research showed that having other canine companions had the greatest influence on the health of the dog -- 5 times the effect of household income, household stability, or the age of the owner.
“This does show that, like many social animals—including humans -- having more social companions can be really important for the dog’s health,” said study author Bri McCoy, a graduate student at Arizona State University.
Speaking of pets …
OK, here’s a weird one … A woman took to Reddit’s “Am I the A-hole” forum to share an issue she is having with her cousin. Seems the cousin, who is pregnant, wants the woman to change the name of her cat – because she likes that name for her daughter-to-be. The poster said her rescue cat came to her with the name “Millie,” and that’s what she answers to -- so she doesn’t want to change the cat’s name. Her cousin called her selfish for valuing a “stupid cat” over her daughter. Well, Reddit has responded. They gave the poster a “Not the A-hole” badge, confirming that she is not the one in the wrong here. Among the comments were: “DON’T change your cat’s name. There are thousands of people and animals who share names” and “Two beings can have the same name and the universe will not implode. Keep your cat’s name!”