Faculty of Medicine, Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, 3rd Floor, TRW Building, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 4Z6. amtoohey@ucalgary.ca
This study investigates whether dog-ownership and neighborhood characteristics are associated with sense of community (SC) and neighborhood-based recreational walking (NRW) for older adults. A random sample of adults =50 years of age (n=884) provided information on SC, dog-related factors, neighborhood walking, and socio-demographics in telephone and postal surveys. Associations between dog-ownership, neighborhood characteristics, and NRW were estimated using logistic regression (i.e., odds ratios (OR)). Frequent dog-walkers (=4 times/wk) were more likely than those not owning a dog to report a heightened SC (OR=1.94, p