My Pet World: The human-animal bond can work wonders

He didn't grow up with pets. His mother didn't even like pets, but psychologist Aubrey Fine sure appreciates their value.

"I know there's a connection that can heal, and it's a connection we don't even quite yet understand," he says.

Thirty years ago, Fine was among a select few pioneers working to explain that connection, referred to as the human-animal bond. He set out to describe the power of healing paws using science rather than anecdotal evidence.

However, anecdotes aren't all bad.

"True stories that touch the heart are worth telling," Fine says.

His most recent book, "Our Faithful Companions: Exploring the Essence of Our Kinship With Animals" (Alpine Publications, Crawford, CO, 2014; $14.95), offers many heartwarming anecdotes that illustrate the value of pets.

Fine writes about a veterinarian who explained that veterinary school prepared him very well to understand the physiology of his patients and to treat illness, but didn't prepare him for the strong commitment pet owners have for their animals.

"Going back to the 1950s, (the) same veterinarian euthanized a dog who meant everything to one couple. Of course, they were so very sad, and this veterinarian empathized." A short time later, the clients returned and presented the vet with a wallet as a small token of their appreciation.

"It's over 50 years later and that wallet is still around to remind the veterinarian that there are two ends of the leash," Fine says.

A Distinguished Professor at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Fine offers another, far more personal anecdote. His wife, Nya, felt that adding another dog to a three-dog household would be too much, until she heard about one particular litter back in 2005.

"For whatever reason, there was one Golden Retriever litter she agreed to look at, and of course, she succumbed to her heart," Fine recalls. The family adopted a pup, naming the pet Magic, which turned out to be prophetic.

Two days before picking up the dog, Nya was diagnosed with cancer.

"The kids named the dog Magic because I'm a magician as a hobbyist," Fine explains. "But it turned out this four-legged (friend) was a better magician than I'll ever be, or maybe what dogs can do isn't magic. After all, it's real.

"Magic took me to Pooh Corner, as I was privileged to witness what an animal can do as I never have before." He called the connection Nya and Magic had an "inspirational relationship," which truly helped Nya get through the cancer treatment. "That better place dogs take us to I call 'Pooh Corner.'"

While Nya has been cancer-free for eight years, the relationship she shares with Magic remains intense.

"They're soul mates," he says. "It's quite amazing to watch. The two of them sitting near one another, as close you can get, and often holding paw in hand, and silently gazing into one another's eyes. That's what the (human-animal) bond is all about."

When Fine began to use animals in therapy sessions in the '70s, colleagues may have thought he was wacko.

"Well, I hope not that," Fine says and laughs. "But people didn't understand, and I was known as the guy who used animals in therapy.

"Focused on the animals, the presence of animals allows me (the psychologist) to go under the radar," he says. "Of course, the animals we use aren't going to be judgmental -- and even children realize this."

While Fine was one of the early supporters of utilizing animals in therapeutic settings, his latest focus is to insure their needs are better understood.

"We now know that animals can help people, but what about the needs of the animals?"

Some of the proceeds of "Our Faithful Companions" will benefit the P.J. Hart Loving Bond Award, a scholarship for (college) students interested in the human-animal bond.

Asked to sum up the human-animal bond, Fine says that today, after decades of study, he can describe the bond in a single word: "Love." The explanation may not sound all too scientific, Fine admits. "I know love when I see it."

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