I love my dog

When my cat LouLou died in the summer I reflected on the benefits of cat ownership for people with Parkinson’s. Dogs, too, can be great assets in your support team, improving mental and physical health.

This little guy, a Pembroke corgi called Marcus, was my first pet crush.

He belonged to my great Auntie Nin, who lived by the sea. If corgis were the choice of Her Majesty the Queen, then Nin had to be on trend. I loved walking him on the beach, his little legs waddling to catch up, and his tail wagging as best it could for one that was docked to a small stump.

I loved following the adventures of Lassie and Rin Tin Tin on TV. In vain, I nagged my parents for a dog of my own, preferably an “Old Station Dog” (Alsatian – we didn’t call them German shepherds till it was OK to mention the War again). They resisted, but my dreams came partly true when my sister-in-law, who bred rough collies, came into our lives with a Lassie-look-alike, another Marcus. He stayed with us while I was doing my O-levels, most of them rather badly.

I remember coming in from school after my maths paper. I buried my tearful face in his fur, and all was well with the world. Marcus didn’t care about quadratic equations, cosines and differential calculus. He just wanted to be fed, loved and walked.

That’s the first time I realised how having a pet could be good for mental health. Life took me in the cat direction, where I have found much joy. But I do love dogs – particularly retrievers, collies and spaniels and the occasional Hungarian vizsla.

Lifesaver

Exercising, stroking and caring for a creature that gives unconditional love can be a lifesaver. It was for Kerry Irving from Keswick, who, after a road accident, suffered so much pain, depression and isolation that he thought about suicide. A chance encounter with a springer spaniel called Max changed everything. Max’s owner, caring for her ailing father, let Kerry walk the dog. When she moved house, she asked Kerry if he’d like to keep Max. He jumped at the chance.  

Kerry started posting photos and videos of their Lake District walks on social media. Two more springers, Paddy and Harry, joined the household and now their Facebook page has more than 217,000 followers. Many followers testify to the benefits to their mental health of watching spaniels at play. My favourite clips are the Flapometers – where the spaniels’ ears are a reliable guide to wind speed in the Lake District.

On his website Kerry says:

“Max gave me back my self esteem, brought me a brighter future, introduced me to a new thought process. He gave me the will to see in the next day, the next week, the next month. He gave me hope, showing me the freedom of being outside once again, walked patiently beside me and helped conquer my fears, diverting my darkest thoughts to a much better and happier healthier place.”

Kerry and his canine pals are champion fund raisers for the mental health charity Mind and the pet health charity PDSA as well as mountain rescue and fix the fells. Max has been awarded the PDSA Order of merit, a kind of doggie OBE, for ‘providing comfort and support to thousands of people worldwide’.

Dogs for Parkinson’s

The support a dog offers is especially welcome for people with Parkinson’s. Speaking of his 12-year-old dog Gus, who died earlier this year, Michael J Fox told CBS:

“Your instinct when you have a chronic illness is to sometimes isolate and make your world as small as possible so you don’t have much to deal with, but a dog will open you up.”

One of the irritating non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s is apathy – I can have great plans for tomorrow, but then wake up and just think “bleuuuugh” or, less politely, “can’t be a**ed”.

John MacPhee from Inverness, who has lived with Parkinson’s for 10 years, says:

“I’m a world champion at sitting on my backside.”

This from a man who is a master of long-distance challenges and recently supported Bill Bucklew on his 670-mile walk from John O’Groats to London! John’s spaniels Harvey and Fergus are a big part of his routine. He says:

“I can’t put off walking them – they get me outside where nothing matches the sheer joy of watching a spaniel bobbing up and down in the heather and living life to the full.”

Support dogs

There is growing evidence that, just as dogs can guide people with visual and hearing impairment, or predict epileptic seizures or diabetic comas, they can support people with Parkinson’s.

For example, a dog (a bigger dog – please don’t try it with a dachshund!) can be trained to brace and provide a rigid support if you fall. They can help you to balance, and tug gently if you freeze. Not to mention having your own Jeeves to bring you clean socks.

A tight leash

Having your dog pulling gently or tapping you with a paw is to unfreeze is good. But being pulled across the road and up the kerb to land face first in a flower bed is not. Michael S Okun, MD, a co-author of Ending Parkinson’s Disease: A Prescription for Action, recently posted some tips for walking your dog if you have Parkinson’s. They include getting rid of the retractable lead over which you have no control, and putting knots in a fixed lead for perfect control.

Here’s Michael with his dog Gaba, showing how it’s done.

Play > I love my dog > Yusuf/ Cat Stevens