By Jack Wynn

Dozens of Maryland students, alumni and community members gathered at the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center on Thursday for a presentation on the science behind the love between dogs and humans by Jen Golbeck, author and professor at the University of Maryland.

Golbeck, author of  “The Purest Bond: The Human-Canine Connection,” and her husband have rescued many golden retrievers, including several that were sick, seniors or had special needs. The love that Golbeck felt for her furry family inspired her research into the science behind why humans and dogs have the relationships that they do. 

“[Golbeck] does a good job of securing trust and going and telling people about how technology is being used in ways we don’t think,” said Keith Marzullo, dean of the UMD College of Information Sciences. “So she really has a deep understanding of relationships with people and technology information.”

During her presentation, Golbeck talked through the many interesting, and adorable, aspects of her book, featuring some of her cutest dogs and stories throughout. 

Golbeck discussed the many ways dogs can help improve their humans’ mental health, citing evidence from a study that found petting a dog for seven minutes lowers blood pressure and decreases stress. 

“If you put people in stressful situations and have a dog with them, their stress levels tend to stay lower,” Golbeck explained. 

Dogs have proven to be helpful with regards to physical health as well. Golbeck said dogs can get people to become more active and go outside more. 

Some dogs have even saved lives. Golbeck told the story of one of the subjects of her book who’s dog Chomp had saved their life in a medical crisis.

“[Chomp’s owner] woke up and Chomp was jumping on his chest and was staring at him while he tried to sleep, and he took himself to the doctor because the dog was telling him something was wrong,” Golbeck explained. “They ended up airlifting him up to Miami and giving him a bypass. He almost died of a heart attack.”

One of the most emotional moments of the presentation was when Golbeck began to describe the process of handling grief after one of her dogs passed away. Golbeck took the audience through her dog Hopper’s “last best day.”

Hopper, a beautiful golden retriever who had been struggling with the effects of arthritis, was treated to whatever he wanted before sharing his final moments with Golbeck and her husband. 

Hopper was taken for a swim, played with his favorite ball and even got to try chocolate for the first time before his vet appointment. But Hopper died happily, still with chocolate in his mouth looking up at the woman who had rescued him. 

“It was like the best send off, right? It doesn’t make it less painful, losing them is the worst. But being able to give her all of her favorite things, was just an amazing way to say goodbye,” Golbeck said. 

Golbeck explained that on an emotional scale, dogs passing away is as significant as a close relative passing away. She also commented on how society doesn’t respect the loss of pet lives the way they should.

“When you lose a dog it’s like losing the closest family members in your life. But psychologists refer to this as disenfranchised grief,” Golbeck said. “Society kind of doesn’t give you the room to mourn in the way that you should because you lost an important relationship.”

Goldbeck also thinks people could take their attitude with their dogs and bring it out into the world. 

“We can also kind of aspire to be more dog-like with people,” Golbeck said. “Be that kind of non-judgemental person who’s there to listen and support them and be reliable. That, I think, would be lovely.”

A reception held immediately following the event provided food, drinks and available copies of Golbeck’s book to help facilitate conversation between attendees. 

“For the alumni to network with one another, talk about dogs, I think that’s a common and really safe topic people can enjoy” Chief Development Officer for the UMD Information School Nancy Murray said. “They can talk to Jen or they can talk to each other.”

Featured Image: Golbeck’s book, “The Purest Bond: The Human-Canine Connection,” at the event in the Alumni Center on Nov. 30, 2023. Photo by Craig Taylor.