When the world shuttered its doors in 2020, leaving streets empty and hearts heavy, countless people turned to a timeless source of comfort: animals. Shelters reported record adoptions. Social media brimmed with photos of pandemic puppies and quarantine kittens. The belief was simple, almost instinctive—that a wagging tail or a gentle purr could soothe the sting of isolation.
But a new study out of Hungary has just delivered a surprise that might unsettle animal lovers everywhere: pets may not be the universal remedy for human loneliness and well-being that we’ve long imagined.
Published in Scientific Reports, the research suggests that the emotional magic we often attribute to our animal companions might be far more fragile—and far less universal—than popular wisdom claims.
Chasing the Myth of the “Pet Effect”
It’s now almost cliché to talk about the “pet effect”—the idea that owning a dog, cat, or other furry friend can boost happiness, lower stress, and even improve physical health. Hospitals invite therapy animals into their corridors. Workplaces promote “bring your dog to work” days. Dating profiles showcase pets as emblems of kindness and emotional depth.
But scientifically proving the pet effect has been a notoriously slippery pursuit. Studies have been conflicting for years, with some showing benefits while others detect no measurable differences in well-being between pet owners and non-owners.
Then came a global pandemic—a grim natural experiment that confined millions to their homes and severed human-to-human contact. What better moment, researchers thought, to test the healing power of pets?
Inside the Study: Unexpected Findings in a Time of Crisis
At the heart of this new research is the ELTE Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, where scientists from the MTA-ELTE Momentum Companion Animals Research Group seized a rare opportunity.
“Through a collaboration with a psychologist team led by Zsolt Demetrovics and Róbert Urbán, we had access to a unique data set,” explains Enikő Kubinyi, the group’s leader. “During the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns, almost three thousand people across Hungary participated three times in data collection, several months apart. We noticed that 65 people acquired a pet and 75 lost one during the study, and decided to investigate how their well-being changed over time.”
The results were anything but heartwarming.
While acquiring a dog offered a fleeting lift in cheerfulness, it came at a cost. Over time, dog owners’ overall calmness, life satisfaction, and energy levels actually declined. And the presumed antidote to loneliness? It didn’t appear at all.
“What surprised me most,” says Judit Mokos, data scientist and co-first author of the paper, “was that a new pet in the household had no effect on respondents’ loneliness. Dog adoption is often promoted as a solution for elderly and/or lonely people. Shelters and pet food companies promote adoption as a means of alleviating loneliness. However, our research suggests that dogs do not provide a real solution to loneliness; rather, they make the new owners more anxious.”
Perhaps even more startling: losing a pet did not significantly impact people’s well-being. The heartbreak many anticipate from a pet’s death or disappearance seemed absent in the data. For most respondents, life went on as before.
Beyond the Romantic Notion of Pet Ownership
Ádám Miklósi, who initiated the companion animal data collection, believes this study reveals a critical blind spot in the way society views pets.
“We rarely have access to data that documents spontaneous pet acquisition from people unbiased in their attitude toward pet ownership,” Miklósi says. “Usually, pet lovers are identified and studied when the decision to adopt an animal is already settled.
It appears that—at least during stressful periods—the average person, who may not be the primary caregiver but simply shares a household with the pet, is not significantly affected by the pet’s loss, nor is their well-being a strong predictor of the decision to acquire one.”
In other words, much of the research historically focuses on those already predisposed to love animals. This pandemic study was unique because it captured people who acquired pets more impulsively—and the outcomes were not always rosy.
Kubinyi, reflecting on the broader implications, says: “Based on the data, most people living together with a companion animal do not seem to experience any long-term ‘pet effect,’ nor do they bond strongly with their animal. It is possible that the dynamics of the pandemic have led many to make impulsive choices against their long-term interests, or that only certain groups—like devoted animal lovers or older adults living alone—truly benefit from pets in stressful times.”
What This Means for Pet Lovers—and for Science
None of this is to say that pets don’t bring joy or comfort. For countless people, animals remain vital companions, sources of laughter, affection, and purpose. Stories abound of individuals whose lives were transformed by a dog’s loyalty or a cat’s soft presence.
Yet, this research serves as a sobering reminder that the pet effect is not universal. The mental health benefits of animals may hinge on personal circumstances, the nature of the bond, and expectations.
It also challenges public health narratives that promote pet ownership as a near-guaranteed path to emotional resilience—especially for vulnerable groups like the elderly or the lonely. While pets can enrich many lives, they may also introduce stress, responsibility, and even anxiety, particularly during times of crisis.
A More Nuanced Future for Human–Animal Bonds
Perhaps the true lesson from this pandemic-era research is that our relationship with animals is deeply complex, shaped by culture, personality, and context. Pets are not magical panaceas; they are living beings with needs, quirks, and demands that don’t always align with our own.
As Kubinyi and her colleagues caution, the emotional bond between humans and animals, though real and often profound, may not be as universally transformative as popular culture leads us to believe.
In a world hungry for comfort and connection, the myth of the pet effect may have grown larger than life. This study gently but firmly nudges us back to reality—a place where love for animals can still thrive, but where we acknowledge that not every wagging tail holds the cure for a lonely heart.
Reference: Mokos, J et al. Short-term effects of pet acquisition and loss on well-being in an unbiased sample during the COVID-19 pandemic., Scientific Reports (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-06987-7
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