One is the loneliest number

Nothing was working. When Riley was given free reign of the house, she chewed furniture, door frames, anything she could wrap her mouth around. Confining the 70-pound mixed breed dog to a crate only made her anxiety worse, and she chewed her way out,

through the wires and the plastic. After the last vet visit ($440 for stitches to her mouth), Dan and Sarah were out of money and solutions. They returned to the shelter where they had found Riley. not to return her, but to do something counterintuitive: they adopted yet another dog. Bandit, another mixed breed, turned out to be the answer to Riley's psychological quirks. This large, goofy-looking dog provided the companionship that Riley needed while her owners were away at work. The destruction stopped, and Riley and Bandit became best friends.

Ask any horse owner, and he or she will tell you that nervous horses benefit tremendously from companion animals. In the book and subsequent movie "Seabiscuit," the horse in the title role was full of promise and rage. After a succession of trials, which included a goat, the magic bullet proved to be a sweet-natured white pony. Seabiscuit went on to become one of this country's best-loved symbols of the Depression era.

Many animals, like people, crave society. Studies have shown that companion animals can have a positive, ameliorating effect on their human's blood pressure. The reverse can also be true: many animals depend on their humans to provide security and a sense of well-being. In my own case, my minitiature schnauzer, Pepper, was imprinted on me: with me almost constantly from 8 weeks of age, he would follow me from room to room and was very possessive of me with other dogs and people. When I had to return to a full-time job, I knew that Pepper wouldn't adjust without some help. Enter Charlie: another mini-schnauzer, Charlie came to us when Pepper was 2 . We had 2 months to acclimate the two of them, and by the time I went back to work, they were best buddies. Pepper never went through the trauma of separation, and I could go to work guilt-free. Nowadays, BOTH dogs follow me from room to room, seeking a lap to sit on or a chew-toy to play tug-of-war. I can't imagine life without my dogs. They have enriched our lives a hundred-fold. And I like to think that we have had the same effect on them.