Protecting Your Pet: Depression and anxiety

Two-year-old Lindy spent her puppy years in an animal shelter, but now the mixed breed has a happy home.

"We've really been the only nice family she's ever had," said David, 13. "Whenever she's around us, she's gotten very attached to us."

Lindy has gotten so attached to David, that when he started school, she started acting strange.

“When she's at the door she looks very serious and stern," said David.

Animal experts say a change in a pet’s lifestyle can change their behavior.

"If there is a trigger event that anyone can recognize for example a recent death of a family member, or a child going back to school or a change in the owners work routine," said Dr. Stefanie Schwartz, of the MSPCA Angell Animal Medical Center.  

Pets can become depressed. So, owners need to know the signs.

“If an animal is not eating as well, or perhaps it's eating more, if it stops grooming itself, if it withdraws from interacting socially with the owner, if it's not as playful," said Schwartz.

Being left alone can become a big problem for some pets.

“She'll go up and jump at the front door a couple times to see where we're going,” David said. “Once she realizes that we've left, she runs around the house a lot and starts barking because she wants us to come back."

That is a sure sign of separation anxiety.

“The three major signs of separation anxiety syndrome are house soiling, destructiveness, and excessive vocalization,” Schwartz said. “There are other forms that are seen less often that include aggression or self-mutilation."

While these behaviors can become a problem for both the owner and the pet, David said the positives outweigh the negatives.

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