More Dogs in Your Neighborhood Means Less Crime, but Not for the Reason You Think

One reason people have dogs is to scare off burglars. And a new study found it really does work . . . but don’t thank your dog just yet.

Researchers at Ohio State compared crime stats in different neighborhoods to how many dog owners there were. And they found that more dogs DOES equal less crime.

But it’s not just because your dog is scaring off burglars. It’s also because YOU are.

They found that people who walk their dogs basically have the same effect as Neighborhood Watch groups patrolling the streets.

If lots of people are out walking their dogs every day, they notice when anything weird is going on. So it ends up being a crime deterrent.

There’s an even bigger difference in areas where people know and trust each other.

High-trust neighborhoods with lots of dog owners have around two-thirds as many robberies, and half as many homicides.