Yes, pets can be good for your health: Expert insights

SO MARIA, LET’S ADD ONE MORE HEALTH TIP TO THAT LIST. GET A DOG. RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF BENEFITS, INCLUDING LESS STRESS AND A LONGER LIFE. HERE TO EXPLAIN IS DOCTOR TODD ELLERIN FROM SOUTH SHORE HEALTH. ARE YOU COMING OR GOING FROM THE OPERATING ROOM? ARE YOU? I’M COMING FROM HOME. THIS IS CLEAN FROM THE HOSPITAL. ALL RIGHT. SO YOU’VE ALREADY TAKEN THIS ADVICE, RIGHT? I’VE TAKEN THIS ADVICE. SO LET’S PUT UP A PICTURE ON THE SCREEN. WHO WAS IN THE PHOTO THERE? WE LOVE OUR DOGS. OKAY, SO YOU’RE SEEING BRETT IN THE MIDDLE. YEAH. AND YOU’RE SEEING PENNY GOLDENDOODLE ON THE LEFT. AND YOU’RE SEEING AUSSIE AUSTRALIAN LABRADOODLE ON THE RIGHT. AND WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING AT IS UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, UNCONDITIONAL EMOTIONAL SUPPORT AND UNCONDITIONAL CUDDLES. RIGHT. AND THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PART, BY THE WAY, AT ANY TIME. SO IS YOUR LIFE BETTER WITH WITH A DOG OR IN YOUR CASE WITH TWO DOGS? THERE IS NO QUESTION. AND I’LL TELL YOU, I COME HOME, WE COME HOME FROM WORK SUPER STRESSED, YOU KNOW, AND JUST, YOU KNOW, RUNNING AS YOU’RE PENNY OUTSIDE. PLAYING SOCCER JUST REDUCES STRESS. AND I’LL TELL YOU SOMETHING THAT MY SON SAID. BRETT SAID THAT, YOU KNOW, HE WOULDN’T HAVE KNOWN HOW TO GET THROUGH DIVORCE WITHOUT AUSSIE. SO THIS IS IT’S YOU KNOW, IT’S TRULY OUR BEST FRIEND. WELL, ANECDOTALLY, WHEN I GET HOME AT MIDNIGHT, SHE’S STANDING RIGHT IN THE DOOR. WE GO OUTSIDE, RUN AROUND FOR A COUPLE OF MINUTES, SHE GETS BACK AND GET A TREAT, AND SHE GOES TO BED. I MEAN, SHE’S MY BUDDY. SO NOW WE ASKED OUR FOLLOWERS ON INSTAGRAM TO SHARE SOME OF THE WAYS THAT DOGS HAVE IMPROVED THEIR HEALTH. SHY TRISH TOLD US THAT MY DOG SAVED ME FROM THE DEPRESSION OF LOSING MY MOM. YOU SIMILAR THING. IF YOU GO THROUGH A DIVORCE OR YOU LOSE SOMEBODY, RIGHT? LISTEN, WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE? SHOW NUMEROUS OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES SHOW SHOW PET OWNERSHIP, DOG OWNERSHIP NOT ONLY DECREASES DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, BUT IMPROVES CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH, DECREASES BLOOD PRESSURE, MAKES PEOPLE LIVE LONGER. YOU KNOW, YOU CAN IMAGINE THOSE REASONS. I MEAN, IT’S AMAZING. INDISPUTABLE. YEAH. DO WE ALREADY GO THROUGH IT? BUT WE HAD ANOTHER ONE FROM FROM MATT WAKE. SHE SAYS, I DEFINITELY WOULDN’T BE WALKING EVERY DAY WITHOUT A DOG NOW. THERE’S ANOTHER BENEFIT. THE DOG HAS TO BE WALKED. SO YOU WALK THE DOG. STUDY FROM GREAT BRITAIN, 2019. IT SHOWED THAT PEOPLE WHO OWN DOGS MET THAT PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. MARK OF 150 MINUTES OF PHYSICAL EXERTION PER WEEK, MORE THAN PEOPLE WHO DIDN’T OWN DOGS. AND SOME OF THIS EXTENDS NOT JUST TO DOGS, BUT CAT OWNERS AS WELL. I KNOW TODAY IS NATIONAL DOG DAY, BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, OWNING THE PET IS JUST STRESS RELIEF AND LOVE. AND, YOU KNOW, PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL SUPPORT. IT’S AMAZING. SO YOUR NAME OR THE DOG’S AGAIN? YEAH. PENNY AND AUSSIE. PENNY AND AUSSIE PENNY. YEAH. MARIA. AS YOU KNOW, OURS IS GABBY. BUT YOU KNOW. AND SHE’S A GABB