In the book The Other End of the Leash, the writer and animal behaviorist Dr Patricia McConnell notes that dogs and humans are among the few animals that demonstrate the need to play throughout their entire lives, even as adults.

"Just 10 minutes can have a significant impact," students in our study that interacted with cats and dogs had a significant reduction in cortisol, a major stress hormone," said Patricia Pendry, Associate Professor at Washington State University.

Suárez lived 830 miles away from the funeral home, making the visit from the pack of stray dogs a shock and delight for Suárez’s daughter, Patricia Urrutia. The pack of stray dogs came inside the funeral home and stood guard at the coffin, reported Meghan Keneally of ABC News .