A spokesperson for the RSPCA, which is the UK’s version of the SPCA (the R stands for “Royal”) said in an article recently that people with pets were happier, healthier and more likely to meet the man or woman of their dreams. This is based on the countless love stories they hear from happy couples who met at the dog park or the vet. The theory is that people who own pets love to talk about their pets with other people who have and appreciate pets so there’s a built-in ice-breaker.
For example, a doctor named Kate said she met her husband of three years, while walking her golden retrievers at the local dog park. The 37-year-old said she was playing with dogs Chester and Jackson when she met the man of her dreams. “My husband Paul was walking his cattle dog Lex and came up to ask me about my dog’s names,” Ms Howson said. “We started talking every time we met at the park, then he asked me out and three years later we were married!”
It is apparently not uncommon for people to find love while holding a leash. The beauty of it is you start talking to people you would never normally come across, and people are relaxed and happy when they’re with their pets.
Another story from a young woman named Leonie, who said she met her boyfriend of three months while walking her border collie Jasper. “I was in a park and my dog recognized my boyfriend who I’d met years before but only known for a couple of weeks,” she said. “He was walking his boxer and we wouldn’t have met again if it wasn’t for the dogs.”
Online dating agencies are catching on to the trend. Love Me Love My Pets has hundreds of photos of people with their animals and profiles of single animal lovers, and so does Date My Pet which offers you to find a mate for yourself or just a playmate for your pet.
