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Music, often hailed as humanity's universal language, is now being put to an extraordinary test by a 12-year-old Houston boy, who is using its power to soothe some of the most vulnerable members of the animal kingdom: shelter pets.
Yuvi Agarwal, who began playing keyboard at the age of four, first noticed the calming effect of his music on his family's restless golden doodle, Bozo. This observation sparked a curiosity: could music similarly alleviate stress in homeless animals?
With the support of his parents, both with marketing backgrounds, Yuvi founded the non-profit Wild Tunes in 2023. The organisation recruits volunteer musicians to perform in animal shelters, and has already enlisted around 100 singers and instrumentalists of all ages and abilities, playing at nine shelters across Houston, New Jersey, and Denver. "You don’t have to understand the lyrics to enjoy the music. Just enjoy the melody, the harmony and the rhythms. So it transcends linguistic barriers, and even it can just transcend species," Agarwal said recently after playing hits like The Beatles' "Hey Jude" and Ed Sheeran's "Perfect" at the Denver Animal Shelter.
Agarwal recounts how many of his four-legged listeners, including cats, initially become excited upon his arrival, only to settle into a state of calm within minutes, some even falling asleep. He vividly recalls a rescue dog named Penelope in Houston who refused to leave her enclosure to eat. "Within a short period of me playing, she went from not even coming out of her kennel to licking me all over my face and nibbling my ears," Agarwal said.
The initiative extends beyond Yuvi's personal performances. In Denver, professional musician Sarah McDonner, who met Agarwal in Houston and helped bring the programme to Colorado, played Mozart and Bach on her flute for Max, a one-year-old stray boxer. McDonner believes the programme offers vital positive human interaction. "The animals having that human interaction in a positive way, I think, gives them something to look forward to, something that is different throughout their day," she said, adding that it "makes them more adoptable in the long run."
While the calming effect of music on humans is well-documented, its precise role in animal behaviour remains a subject of ongoing research. Several studies suggest classical music can have a soothing influence on dogs in stressful environments like shelters. However, some researchers caution that more data is needed to definitively support these claims.
Lori Kogan, chair of the human-animal interaction section of the American Psychological Association and a professor at Colorado State University, has studied human-animal bonds for over two decades. She notes that research on music's effect on dogs often yields mixed results due to numerous variables, including setting, volume, music type, tempo, breed, and prior exposure. "We always want these really simplistic answers. So we want to say that music calms animals, for example, and I think that it’s much more nuanced than that," Kogan explained. She advocates for a case-by-case approach, suggesting that if a pet appears calmer and enjoys the music, it provides positive enrichment.
Despite the scientific nuances, Yuvi Agarwal views his firsthand experiences in shelters as undeniable proof of music's comforting power for stressed animals. He aims to expand Wild Tunes into a nationwide programme, noting the reciprocal benefits for volunteers. "You get a really great way to practice your instrument or sing in front of a nonjudgmental audience, which can boost your confidence," he said.
