Australian research has discovered that dog owners tend to have different personality traits from cat owners and that the former tended to cope better with loneliness during COVID-19 lockdowns.
Researchers at James Cook University surveyed 534 lone dwellers in Australia who were dog owners, cat owners, and those without pets during the second lockdown period, one of the strictest and most restrictive in the world.
For those in COVID-19 lockdowns, they found that both dog and cat ownership made the isolation easier and provided companionship for people living alone, psychologist Jessica Oliva said.
Due to their increased mindfulness, dog owners, in particular, were found to be less lonely….