There is now happy evidence supporting the theory that owning a dog prolongs our lifespan, especially for those who have experienced a serious cardiovascular event.
Here’s the science on that…
The first study shows that those people who experienced a heart attack between 2001 and 2012, and who happened to also own a dog were at a 33% lower risk of death after hospitalization, than if they lived alone. It also shows that if they owned a dog and lived with a partner or child they were at a 15% lower death risk. The main idea being that the decrease in death risk for dog owners is likely because the dog forces them to become more physically active.
The second study finds that people who own a dog have better health outcomes, compared to those who don’t.
“Having a dog was associated with increased physical exercise, lower blood pressure levels, and better cholesterol profile in previous reports,” says first author Dr. Caroline Kramer.
“As such,” she adds, “the findings that people who owned dogs lived longer and their risk for cardiovascular death was also lower are somewhat expected.”
Now who’s got a dog! Comment below and tell us your pup’s name and the funniest thing Fido does…we can’t wait to hear and share a good laugh over how happy our precious pups make us 🙂
