If you’re having trouble meeting a romantic partner, research shows you could improve your chances by getting a dog. A 2020 YouGov study found that 50% of Americans would be more willing to date someone if they had a dog, while only 9% would be less willing to do so.
Women are more interested in meeting someone with a dog (54%) compared to 46% of men.
People are more attracted to dog lovers for a pretty simple reason. They assume that those who have dogs are better at having long-term relationships. “People might infer that a dog-walking man knows how to form lasting attachments, has the resources to care for someone else (dog ownership is expensive!), and is reliable enough to do the daily work involved with dog ownership,” Theresa E. DiDonato Ph.D. writes in Psychology Today.
A Reddit user with an unprintable name posted a story for the ages that has resurfaced because of the epic troll move his dad pulled. He secretly renamed his dog, and the son found out at the most inopportune time.
When he was 19, the Reddit user’s parents gave him an adorable Golden Retriever puppy for Christmas. Because of the spirit of the season, he named her “Holly.” The Redditor couldn’t take the dog home immediately, so it stayed with his parents for a few weeks while he got situated.
Six months later, when he took Holly in for a check-up, he learned that while she was living with his parents, his father registered her under another name with the American Kennel Club and the local veterinarian. While he waited for his dog to be called to the vet, a young woman caught his attention.
“So I’m sitting in the waiting room and a cute girl around my age comes in with a beautiful GSD [German Shepherd] pup and sits by me,” the man recounted. “Our pups start playing together so we inevitably talk. We’re hitting it off, talking about the joys and downs of puppy ownership. Then the receptionist steps up and calls: ‘Mizz Princess Hollywood?'”
Blindsided by the name, the guy felt humiliated. The name of his potential paramour’s dog didn’t make things any easier.
“Now I’m already embarrassed, but it didn’t help that while I was still standing up there, they call out ‘Bowser’ (or something else fairly masculine), and the cute girl stands up with her pup,” the Redditor wrote. “I just walked into the exam room red-faced and never saw her again.”
Instead of feeling embarrassed, a Reddit user named Sniperstar said the dog owner should have used the situation to his advantage. “[You] Should have got up said, ‘It’s a long story, but I’d love to tell you about it over coffee after this,’” Sniperstar suggested.
Sniperstar isn’t wrong in their suggestion. Studies show that, according to heterosexual women, a sense of humor is one of the most attractive qualities a man can have. But who knows if even a well-timed joke can overcome the cringe of having a dog named Mizz Princess Hollywood?