Andrea Thompson: Ever since I was a kid, I wanted a dog. But it wasn’t until I was an adult–newly laid off and missing a beloved cat that had passed more than a year earlier–that my husband and I adopted a 1-year-old mutt named Jack.
[CLIP] Thompson: Hi bud!
Thompson: Jack is a classic shade of brown, but a cartoonish mixture of a pitbull’s head and muscly chest and some unknown breed’s short little legs (our best guess is corgi). Sometimes when he sneezes, his head loudly–and hilariously–knocks against the floor. In the six years we’ve had him, Jack has come with his share of challenges. He is an incorrigible stealer of tissues and loses his mind when the doorbell rings.
[Barking]
Thompson: But he is an expert cuddler and loves every single person he has ever met. He is silly and playful. Having Jack has helped us meet so many more of our neighbors, get much more regular exercise walking rain or shine, and helped us teach our toddler about respecting the space and bodies of other beings. But it’s also meant that I’ve wanted to learn more about Jack and the relationship we have with our dogs.
This is Science, Quickly. I’m Andrea Thompson, Scientific American’s news editor for earth and environment – and sometimes fun animal science. Today, we’re speaking with University of Maryland computer scientist and famed internet “dog mom” of a pack of golden retrievers Jen Golbeck about her new book, The Purest Bond: Understanding the Human-Canine Connection, written with science writer Stacey Colino. It delves into the science of how we humans relate to our puppy pals and the many ways they improve our lives.
[Music]
Thompson: Hi Jen, thanks for speaking with us.
Jen Golbeck: So glad to be here!
Thompson: One of my favorite moments in the book is when you describe how you cope with tough days and stress by laying on the floor and being enveloped “in a cloud of golden retrievers” licking and lying on top of you. It sounds like heaven. Jumping off from there, since your book is all about the bond people dogs, can you talk a little about some of the bonds you’ve had with your own pups throughout your life and what those have meant to you?
Golbeck: So we open the book with middle school. I had a really hard time in middle school. I mean, I was bullied. Everything in life sucked. And my parents bought me a golden retriever puppy whose name was Major. And he was everything I needed at that point, you know, non-judgmental. I didn’t…
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