A man walks into a veterinarian’s office….

A chipped tooth, a quick visit to the veterinarian and seven years does not embody the trappings for a Hollywood love story. But just like that, through the proper lens, the banal can be profound. And there is nothing more profound than one incident dramatically altering the course of your life.

It happened, though.

Dixie, our Hungarian Puli, 3 years old at the time, chipped her tooth on a coffee table as she jumped off the sofa, and a trip to a veterinarian was required. As it turned out, the veterinarian we saw that day, July 10, 2017, is the same veterinarian sharing the writing credit here.

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The visit to the veterinarian began as any visit does — with anxiety and trepidation. At the end of that day, Dixie was just fine. However, on that day, a relationship began that yielded a marriage and a business in the veterinary field that we share. That is not a story that one could write easily to sound believable. But it’s true.

Our shared love of animals brought us together and set the groundwork for what would soon be our life together. In love, as with dogs, there’s a similarity in how you build a life together. They are there when you get home waiting patiently. They are usually the first thing you see in the morning when you awake and the last thing before you call it a day. And when they drive you nuts, (obviously referring to the dogs) — and they will — all you need to do is ask: Who doesn’t drive you nuts once in a while?

Having pets in your life changes everything. Pet owners relate to one another because they share a mutual understanding of the immense bond created between people and their pets. Scientific data supports this notion. People tend to be healthier when they are attached. Mammals as a whole have evolved to have attachments. And there is no shortage of evidence backing this up. We all see people out in public with what they now refer to as “emotional support” animals. And while the actual necessity of these animals is sometimes up for debate —sometimes viewed as a side-door way to bring your pup with you everywhere you go — it’s not debatable that people rely on their pets for emotional support.

And, even more interesting, dogs rely on dogs for emotional support as well! In a recent U.S. study about shelter dogs, the authors concluded that paired shelter dogs exhibit fewer stress-related behaviors compared to single-house dogs. In our house, our 10-year-old struggles to eat breakfast alone without a lot of coaxing. At dinner time, with her sister by her side, she eats like a charm. More on this in a bit.

Therapy dogs often are engaged to bring comfort to the elderly. Autism studies reported in Autism Speaks found that “therapy dogs have become popular in the autism community for their calming influence and ability to promote social interaction.” There’s a reason why we refer to dogs as “A man’s best friend.” After all, best friends are there for you and make you feel good, even when you are sad or down on your luck.

So back to the love story, we don’t have kids, just dogs — and good veterinary care. Day in and day out, they prove a few things: Companionship is cumulative, our relationships with them are real and meaningful, they understand us in a way that is often not believable and they always know just the right time to step up and show some love!

We have two dogs with two completely different personalities. They are seven years apart, 3 and almost 10. They are surprising regularly and have a unique way of understanding that each of us provides something different for them. They love us both but differently. You hear parents say they don’t have a “favorite” kid because each is so different. Our 10-year-old needs to be dragged out of bed in the morning, while our 3-year-old is waiting for one of us to open an eyelid.

We love our dogs, sometimes more than people. And like us, they get angry, sad, excited and bored. And that’s what makes them so terrific.

Our life with our dogs is just that — our life! PJC

Dr. Caroline Simard-Swimmer and Howard Swimmer are the founders of Pets After Dark, an after-hours veterinary telehealth service that immediately connects you to your regular veterinarian or a local vet who knows your regular vet, and guarantees an in-person follow-up appointment with your regular vet the next office day.