For Alexandra Goff, currently in her first year at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, having the support of therapy dogs stood out when she was evaluating medical schools to attend. She believed it revealed how much the faculty care about the students.
“If you’re willing to bring your sweet dogs in on test days, I know you’re here to support not just my education but me as a human,” Goff said. “It’s a simple gesture that helps us feel better and puts our anxiety at ease.”
The healing touch of animals
Research supporting pets’ positive impact on mental health continues to grow. Our furry friends are good for our minds and hearts in obvious and surprisingly complex ways.
“Dogs have heightened senses, and we speculate they use this ability to detect every little change in the environment, particularly as it relates to their companions,” said Mira Milad, MD, a psychiatrist at UT Physicians Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic – BBSB, and assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at McGovern Medical School.
She noted that this natural responsiveness can be grounding, especially in moments of emotional susceptibility or crisis. Animals are a source of focused distraction from internal struggles or difficult circumstances.
“They provide calming support and a depth of connection and companionship, and can intuitively feel when their support is needed and provide more of it,” Milad said.
The university’s four-legged therapists
McGovern Medical School takes this research to heart, supporting two therapy dogs for the medical school community: Scout, an Australian labradoodle, and Birdie, a golden retriever. Both dogs have office hours at the school.
In the past, external animal organizations brought therapy dogs to the university during examination weeks as part of a pet therapy initiative launched with the medical school’s Wellness & Resilience Program. That ended during COVID, however.
In 2021, Nicole Dubuque, director of the university’s Office of Admissions and Student Affairs, asked if her puppy could serve as an in-house therapy dog if she received training. University leadership gave her the green light. Today, students are excited to see the “Birdie is in the office” sign on the admissions office door.
“Birdie loves the interaction and can sense when students are upset,” Dubuque said. “Pet therapy is known to help reduce stress, anxiety, and depression.”
But it’s not just the students who come in to visit Birdie. Dubuque said residents, faculty, and staff members regularly come for pet therapy. They mention their bad day or a stressful moment that spurred them to visit and give belly rubs to a four-legged “therapy princess,” which is how students refer to her.
Allison R. Ownby, PhD, MEd, a professor and associate dean for Educational Programs at McGovern Medical School, started bringing her dog Scout to the university in 2022. Previously, she and Scout had visited patients in the Texas Medical Center as volunteers with Faithful Paws Pet Therapy.
“Everyone who visits Scout seems to have a moment of forgetting whatever it was they were focused on, and they just lose themselves in petting and talking to her,” Ownby said. “I think she brings joy to people.”
The science behind the connection
The science behind pets and mental health is compelling.
• Pets can trigger oxytocin release when we interact with them.
This helps reduce stress hormones, like cortisol, and may lower blood pressure. Physical contact with pets can activate our parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes relaxation.
“We know that pet ownership reduces stress hormones and increases the feel-good hormones oxytocin and dopamine,” Milad said.
As a first-year student at McGovern Medical School, Reese Errington experienced this firsthand. A nervous exam taker, she was sitting in her seat before an exam one day, tapping her fingers anxiously. She saw Birdie walk in and immediately felt better.
“She ran down my row of seats right to me, and I felt so special,” Errington said. “I gave her some good scratches and felt so much better. Birdie brightens every room. There is nothing quite like a precious, happy, golden retriever to make medical school a little less stressful.”
• Being emotionally attached to dogs and cats is protective against depression and anxiety.
“Surprisingly, studies found that dogs have more of that benefit than cats,” Milad said. “Researchers think it relates to changes in our microbiome (gut bacteria), with dogs potentially having a more positive influence on our microbiome than cats.”
Pet ownership shows particular promise for people managing various mental health conditions. Milad said studies show pet ownership largely benefits individuals diagnosed with depression, all forms of anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, and age-related cognitive decline.
Many find comfort, joy, and therapeutic benefits with their pets. They might be some of our most effective mental health allies.
View additional photos of McGovern’s therapy dogs in this Flickr album.
