Life lessons from dogs

Photo: Katsiaryna/Adobe Stock

“I believe that dogs… understand us at a much deeper level, more than we understand each other, and even more than we understand ourselves. And they have our backs,” Renée Alsarraf, DVM, DACVIM (Onc), said during her keynote lecture on Day 2 of the Fetch dvm360 conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey.¹ Alsarraf, a veterinary oncologist with more than 30 years of experience, and author of the memoir Sit, Stay, Heal: What Dogs Can Teach Us About Living Well, shared with the audience 6 life lessons that she learned from her canine patients and her own dog after her experience with battling cancer.

At the beginning of her talk, Alsarraf shared that she was diagnosed with endometrial cancer in 2018. Despite having no clinical signs and getting yearly checkups, by the time the cancer was discovered, it had already metastasized. She shared that her treatment journey consisted of a radical hysterectomy, 25 fractions of radiation therapy to her pelvis, and months of chemotherapy, in addition to the adverse effects of the treatment, which included hair loss, numbness in the hands and feet, and weight gain.

“I quickly learned, even though I had lived it every day for 30-some years, that our dog patients, or my dog patients, were my recovery role models. They actually set the bar higher for me, and they gave me hope and sort of a determination,” Alsarraf said.

Alsarraf led her lecture through the framework of her memoir, which celebrates the power of the human-animal bond by sharing an anecdote from a different canine patient in each chapter, detailing the lessons Alsarraf or the dog’s family learned from that animal companion.

The following are 2 life lessons humans can learn from dogs:

Lesson #1: Dogs never judge

The first life lesson that humans can take from canine companions is that they do not judge, helping remind us to silence our inner critic. “We all have periods in our lives where it's hard to face another person, where we're embarrassed by this step or something foolish,” Alsarraf said, “but our 4-legged friends never judge us. Right? They experience many emotions, happiness, sadness, excitement, even fear. But their stares are never morally judgmental.”

“They don't care about our work history, our performance on the pickleball court, or if we put our foot in our mouth. They always love us and accept us where we are and how we are,” Alsarraf continued.

She explained that dogs never jump to conclusions, and they never put their human counterparts down. “I’m not sure we can say that about ourselves,” stated Alsarraf.

She shared her own experience with her dog Newton, who continued loving Alsarraf through her experience with cancer. “Despite my straggling chemotherapy hair plastered to my skull and wearing my pajamas for 4 days in a row, [which] if I'm being honest, probably had some chicken soup stained on them, [Newton] loved me just the same, and I was a whole person in his eyes,” Alsarraf shared.

Newton’s unconditional love for Alsarraf gave her the strength to continue pushing forward, she explained. He truly saw her and acknowledged and reminded her of her presence, passing forth the lesson to continue despite the circumstances, and to be one’s own cheerleader.

Lesson #2: The benefit of being a pack animal

Dogs are pack animals, and working together helps them survive in the wild, explained Alsarraf. These canines help each other find food and seek each other for warmth and safety. Research shows that having dogs offers many health benefits. These people have a higher likelihood of living longer and helps give people with special needs independence, boosting their confidence. Having a dog can also lower blood pressure, cortisol, heart rare, cholesterol, and improve emotions, according to Alsarraf.

Frannie, a bloodhound who helped the police in search and rescue had a gastric mast cell tumor. Her police partner and the precinct worried that the chemotherapy would affect her sense of smell. Still, Frannie received chemotherapy for more than a year, and ended up setting the New Jersey record for the amount of people that she found in her work.

“I believe that we are so much better as a pack… supporting each other, and there's sort of that inner circle of your pack and that outer circle of your pack. The inner circle of your pack, you might only need 1 or 2 or a few people in that, right? That outer circle, though, is all of us and we are so much more alike than we are different, but if we all knew that we had each other's back, that we're always there to lend a hand—even just a friendly smile sometimes—makes someones day more than you would ever know,” Alsarraf expressed. “We're designed to be connected.”

Serving society

At the end of her session, Alsarraf explained that she believes dogs are placed in people’s lives at times when they are needed most by their human counterparts. Moreover, every dog brings a different life lesson, according to Alsarraf. Given the inextricable bond between humans and canines, as veterinarians serve dogs, they are also serving society, Alsarraf explained.

Speaking of her experiences with her canine patients, Alsarraf said, “I have learned from them all. Lessons I needed along the way.”

Reference

Alsarraf A. Treating yourself through a dog’s eyes. Presented at: Fetch Coastal; October 14-16, 2024; Atlantic City, NJ.