I WENT TO A CHRISTMAS DINNER FOR DOGS, AND IT MADE ME REALISE THERAPY PETS AREN’T JUST FOR NERVOUS FLIERS

Nothing says Christmas like a party – especially one designed for dogs.

UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s recently hosted a series of  “Santa Paws” Christmas dinners at a gallery in London where dog owners could buy a ticket to the event and bring their pooches along to mingle. However, for non-dog owners like myself, the Santa Paws Dinner also ran slots with therapy dogs from Pet London.

Things have been lacking on the Christmas spirit front for me recently, so spending an evening with canine companions and celebrating the festive season felt like a good opportunity to get into the holiday frame of mind.

I took my mum with me, who lost her dad (my granddad) very suddenly a couple of months ago. Understandably, since then she’s been wrestling with a lot of private grief and logistical stress from now taking on a shared caring role of her own mother.

This was also the first time I had ever been around trained therapy animals. Aside from being a great comfort during bereavement, studies have proven petting an animal increases the brain’s serotonin and dopamine levels, which in turn boosts our mood by lowering stress, anxiety, and depression.

Even something as simple as watching them eat or play with their owners put a smile on every face there. My mom said: “Having recently experienced the passing of my father, my emotions are often extremely low. Seeing the therapy dogs was an instant uplift and wished I could have seen them for a lot longer.”