I suffer from anxiety attacks and often go through bouts of depression. My pets are what help me through all of it. They do often frustrate me but more often than that they help me. I think that it depends on what triggers your depression. I don't like to be around people, I don't like restaurants or stores. I also don't like to be alone. My animals help me to keep busy and feel needed without having to leave the house too often. They also help me outside of the house. I've never been able to take a walk by myself, but I can with a dog.

When dealing with postpartum depression I would think that adding a dog to the family would make things worse because it's like having two children instead of one.