“Children can grow up without much contact with older relatives,” she says. “and they think there's nothing to talk about with their grandparents. Having a companion animal to talk about, to text about, share pictures of ... it enables children to talk to their grandparents.”

In fact, dogs in many social situations make for easier conversation, Johnson says, calling it a social lubricant effect. “People are likely to respond more positively to someone who has an animal with them. Animals give us permission to engage in ways we wouldn't otherwise, less formal ways, silly ways. But at a minimum animals provide a topic of conversation that's not stressful.” And that's helpful in settings ranging from workplaces — which are more and more allowing dogs — to hospitals and other settings where trained therapy dogs work.

Dogs are even starting to pop up in court, of all places. “There's a growing movement to have courthouse dogs,” Knight says, “a specially trained therapy animal to preside and be with children and people who have suffered domestic violence who have to testify. Children undergoing forensic interviews for child abuse, who may be in foster care can benefit from interacting with a service while going through interviews.”

For anyone interested in doing therapy work with their dog, it's important that people don't think they “have a nice dog” and can just jump right in, Knight says. “A reputable program  is the gold standard for helping people and their dogs train and register to be visitation or therapy animals.”

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