Dog is My Copilot | Healthy Aging Series: S12 E4
I have learned to enjoy solo backpacking, mostly. My first solo backpacking trip was in the Grand Canyon about 20 years ago. I was going to do three nights and four days solo and then join a small group of friends for an additional three nights at the bottom of the Canyon.
Solo backpacking requires some additional precautions. Extra food. A Kindle. And a Garmin InReach, which is a satellite communication device. 20 years ago, there were no Garmin InReaches, so I had to rent a satellite phone. Today you can push a button on the side of your InReach and activate an emergency response and shortly thereafter, a helicopter comes in and swoops you up and takes you to the hospital.
That trip in the Canyon was very memorable. I had to change my route, adding 10 more miles, and when I got back up to the rim, which was grueling, I had to hitchhike back to my car with a couple of guys who were driving an RV around the country looking for a new place to live. It sounded like a new reality TV show.
I met up with my group, and we headed back down into the Canyon. What I didn’t say earlier was that I was trying out a new pair of lightweight hiking boots. For those of you who think hiking down is easier than hiking up, you would be wrong.
On the trip back down in the Canyon, my hiking shoes, ever so slightly, rubbed the top of my toenails and caused blisters, not at the end of my toes, but under my toenails. It was so bad, that I had to cut the toes out of my new boots just to hike out of the Canyon (8 miles on the Kaibab Trail). I lost both of my big toenails. I’m really not a big fan of solo backpacking, but it’s hard to find someone to join me, so I’ve become a new fan of car camping.
Going Solo
The word ‘solo’ comes from the Latin word meaning ‘alone.’
I’m more of an introvert, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the company of people. I love coming home, after seeing people all day in therapy, being greeted by my wife, and then sitting down for dinner with her, watching our favorite shows on Hulu, and then going for a walk. We usually spend that last hour of the evening watching our favorite TV series, and right now it’s Third Rock from the Sun.
I have no interest in going solo in my life. I enjoy the people in my life. And then there is Hansel. As my wife and I settle into our evening TV routine, we are joined by our kitty, Hansel. He likes to settle in next to me and really, he likes to lounge on me. He has his legs draped over me. It’s a pure joy for him because I can hear him purr and feel it resonate through the comforter, and it’s a pure joy for my wife and me. We love him.
I know there are dog people! They feel the same way about their pups. I would also have a pup, but my lifestyle would be hard on a dog.
The Joy of Pets
I love pets. They have brought me such joy, and they have enriched my life. I think pets can even take the place, not replace, but take the place of a lost family member, partner, or loved one.
There’s no reason to be solo, to be alone. I don’t want to be a catist or dogist, so I’m going to shift from Dog is My Copilot to Pets are My Copilot.
For us, it’s our beautiful kitty, Hansel, and I would be remiss not to mention his sister Gretel.
Harvard Health Review 2025
I’m sharing again, from the Harvard Health Review 2025, and this time pages 55 through 56, an article titled, “Best (Health) Friends.” It’s an article about the benefits of pet ownership.
“Owning a pet,” the article shares, “can be one of the best ways to manage many health issues older adults face, says Dr. Beth Frates, the Director of Lifestyle Medicine and Wellness in the Department of Surgery at Harvard-Affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. It can be a real team effort, too. You take care of the pet, and the pet takes care of you.”
Here are three benefits of being a pet owner:
A Healthier Heart
What did a 2022 study from the Current Hypertension Reports discover about pet ownership?
Pets help prevent high blood pressure and improve blood pressure control for those with that condition.
Pets lower your blood pressure. Two studies from the Circulation Quality and Outcomes in 2019 share:
1. Pet owners had a 31% lower likelihood to die from heart attack or stroke than non-pet owners.
2. Those people who have had a heart attack or stroke, had 33% lower death rate after a heart attack and 27% lower death rate after stroke then those who were not pet owners.
OK, so you don’t like exercising, or doing cardio, or doing hill repeats, or doing anything to improve your cardiovascular system? If I were you, I’d get a cat or a dog.
Pets Reduce Stress
I love watching Hansel sleep. I love watching him splay out on the rug next to our sunroom windows. I love having him cuddle with his legs draped over me. Hansel relaxes me.
The Harvard Health Review points to an article published in 2022 PLOS One that found that interacting with pets stimulates the prefrontal cortex, which helps regulate emotion, and it also lowers cortisol, which is a stress hormone. It also raises oxytocin, which is the good feeling hormone.
Hansel is our drug of choice!
Pets Provide Companionship
“Loneliness and social isolation are among the biggest health threats facing older adults, and pets can help with both. Pets offer everyday companionship, and they depend on you for food and care, which creates a family-like bond, says Dr. Frates.”
Hansel, and sometimes his sister Gretel, are almost always there to welcome us home. I hate to escort him out of the bedroom at night. I hate to because I don’t want to hurt his feelings.
OK, so we don’t have lengthy conversations about politics, and the most recent South Park episode, but he is my boy, and it pains me to think of him being gone. But that’s the price of companionship.
Hansel (and Gretel) is our copilot.
I know they can be a pain: the litter, the throw up, and the damage to furniture. But G-dammit they give so much and expect so little.
If you are feeling lonely, consider getting a pet. I have a young client who has rats, and he adores them.
It doesn’t matter what kind of pet you get. Pets can fill an emptiness in your life and can contribute to a sense of meaning and purpose and improve your quality of life.
Solo Backpacking? Maybe.
Solo Living? Absolutely not!!!
