Ron Baxley Jr. wanted a terrier.
A fan of “The Wizard of Oz,” Baxley had seen a post about a terrier at a local shelter, but he came home with a different dog and a different breed altogether.
“The terrier they had got adopted,” said Baxley, who adopted Ziggy the corgi from the shelter. “I wasn’t looking for that breed.”
In hindsight, Baxley knows that Ziggy was the dog meant for him.
“He’s my fur angel,” said Baxley, who remembers Ziggy sticking his snout out as Baxley passed him in the shelter that day in 2013.
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It had been a rough year for Baxley. His grandmother, to whom he was very close, had died as had his father. It took an emotional toll on him, and Ziggy provided him with a love and understanding only pet owners can relate to, he said.
“When I got him, I’d just started the grieving process,” he said. “When I’d cry, he’d come and sit next to me. He’d lick me.”
Ziggy provided him with a lot of emotional support and helped him through the process, he said.
According to Waltham Petcare Science Institute, which has been researching the health of pets for more than 50 years, there are multiple ways pets help human beings.
Pets prevent isolation and loneliness to support people’s mental health. Adults with pets have healthier responses to stress, including a lower heart rate and blood pressure. Pet ownership is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, Waltham’s website said.
Audrey Monroe’s cat knows her well.
Sampson, 13, developed a strange behavior a few years ago.
“He started this herding technique. He’d nip at my ankles. He’s a tabby male and meows loudly,” she said. “At first, it was annoying.”
But she realized there was a reason he was doing it.
Monroe suffers from anxiety and depression. When she was experiencing physical symptoms related to anxiety, Sampson picked up on it. He found a way to get her attention, so she’d pick him up.
“He will holler until I sit down, put him in my lap and pet him,” she said.
When she sits down with Sampson and pets him, her symptoms ease.
Not all owners need the kinds of support that Ziggy and Sampson provide. Their pets find a way to make other people happy.
Ron and Ingrid DeLuca adopted their gentle giant, Max, more than two years ago from a shelter in Aiken, and the white, Great Pyrenees brings joy to people in his Montclair neighborhood.
The couple lives near Warren Road school.
Ron DeLuca said he’d often bring Max out pre-COVID when school was getting out. The children loved to see him and pet him.
Although he weighs 140 pounds, Max is a “gentle giant,” DeLuca said.
DeLuca takes Max on walks around the neighborhood regularly, and Max has made friends with many people.
“He loves the garbage man,” he said. “And he gets excited when he sees the UPS guy. The UPS guy gave him a treat.”
And he’s got a lot of fans in the neighborhood besides the schoolchildren. On a recent walk, one of the neighbors rushed out of her home when she saw them walking by.
She said she had something for Max, and before DeLuca realized it, she’d given Max a bran muffin. He suffered no ill effects, he said.
DeLuca said he’s often thought Max would make a great therapy dog, but COVID-19 has interrupted any plans for that type of training.
“He’s got to be one of the best dogs we’ve had,” he said.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
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