I’m sure you have heard about the thera­peutic effects, both physical and emotional, of pets in humans. I can attest to that effect from my own personal experi­ence, especially since the time I have been dealing with multiple myeloma.

A golden doodle, which is a cross between a golden retriever and a poodle, came into our family as a puppy in 2012. This was about three years after my multiple myeloma diagnosis, so the dog did not know me when I was going through the worst of my myeloma-related injuries, induction therapy, and stem cell transplant. In fact, I was in a remission when he was a puppy. He was so adorable then, and he has been a very favorite pet ever since!

My younger daughter and her husband named the puppy Piper, and even though they are his owners, the rest of our family looks after him as well since looking after a dog takes a lot of time and energy.

So, for the last five and one half years, he has been a companion to all of us. He loves the grandchildren especially. My husband and I are currently dog-sitting for 10 days. As I sit writing this column, he is nearby, looking out the window for cars and people and other dogs passing by. If he sees anything moving, he will start to bark. He is nothing if not lively and eager to meet people and other dogs, but he always stays close by to the people he knows, even in the house. He also likes music, and will sit under a desk, chair, or piano while I am practicing.

I have found this medium-size dog to be very attentive and affectionate. He is a little too heavy for me now to lift on my own, since I dare not lift anything too much due to the damage caused by multiple myeloma. However, he tries his best to hop up into vehicles by himself.

Piper frequently accompanies me on my daily walks. As you may know, a walk with a dog is a little different from walking by yourself or other people, since dogs like to sniff at everything and are very interested in any other dogs out walking. So this sort of walking is not so much about covering a certain distance, but enjoy­ing the journey. Piper needs to be walked more than once a day, so we take turns with that when we are looking after him. We keep him on a leash, since not only are we worried about traffic on the roads, but also about coyotes, skunks, porcupines, and bobcats that live in a nearby wooded area.

Dogs truly live in the moment and enjoy everything they are doing in that moment. I often remind myself of that mantra when I notice that I start worrying about the future.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Piper has helped me stay in remission longer than I might otherwise have been, since I walked him a lot when he was younger. Maybe it’s just my imagination at work, but I do think that exercising with him is good for my health.

There have been times since my multiple myeloma diagnosis when I did feel quite discouraged due to adverse medical news. Piper’s company has helped me tremendously in those moments. A dog’s love is unconditional, and they seem to know if you need a bit of cheering up. Come to think of it, what does a dog really understand about any of the medical issues that their human companions are going through? They don’t know or mind if you are on strong chemotherapy drugs, getting surgery, or radiation treatments. They would just like to go out walking as usual, and accept you as you are.

Because our little grandpuppy really belongs to my daughter’s family, we have the pleasure of his company on a part-time basis, which we appreciate since I don’t think I could commit right now to having our own dog full time. We basically have the best of both worlds.

I consider Piper my form of pet therapy, and he really is my favorite dog of any that I know.

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The quotation for this month is from Robert Crais (1953 - ), an American author of detective fiction, who said: "No other animal bonds to a human being the way a dog does. And I suspect there is no other animal to which human beings can bond the way we can bond to a dog."