As for improving the mothers’ wellbeing? Well, not so much. Loading For them, a pet dog is just more unpaid work — one more mouth to feed, one more body to wash and clean up after, one more dependant she has to be responsible for keeping alive. You might say that these mothers are just doing dog ownership wrong. They should be making their children take responsibility for caring for the dog. To which I say, have you ever met a child? Kids are great on promises, not so great on delivery.

I remember when I was a kid promising my mum that if she allowed me to have a dog I would feed and walk it. I can put my hand on my heart and swear that I honoured that commitment. For a whole week. Before long, my over-stretched mum must have concluded that it was easier and quicker to care for the dog herself than to nag me to do it. What I also realise now is that the feeding and the walking is actually the easy bit. Dealing with all the hair, the bathing, brushing, worming, the dog slobber over everything, the muddy paws, the chewed furniture, and the dead grass is never ending. And it’s not like mums don’t have enough to worry about already. One of my friend’s dogs needs to go outside to poo in the middle of the night. Every night. Sometimes twice. Of course, my friend is the only one in the house that wakes up to hear the dog scratching and whimpering at the door. Her husband doesn’t even wake for the kids in the night so there’s no chance of him getting up for the dog. If my friend doesn’t get up each night to let the dog out she’s also the one who has to deal with the consequences in the morning. So while her child has become calmer and happier since the dog joined the family, she feels like she has a new-born in the house.

Another friend’s dog has been diagnosed with anxiety so while it has improved (not totally alleviated) her daughter’s anxiety, my friend now has one more mental health problem in the house to manage. She has secret fantasies of putting the mutt on eBay. Loading Alarmed by all these cautionary tales, another friend decided to test out the power of puppy therapy with a short-term commitment. She opted to foster a guide dog puppy for a year. This has brought even more stress. Because the dog is on loan and she has to give it back, my friend feels a greater level of responsibility. And because it’s a guide dog she feels judged and shamed when her dog misbehaves, like the first time she brought the puppy into the school grounds and it proceeded to do its business — right in front of the principal. “She is a lovely dog with a good temperament and I do like having her, but the constant work is well, constant!,” my friend says. “The dog has been a great thing for the kids — hugs, night time kisses, more time with me — but the jury is still out for me”.