Reduce your health risks adopt a rescue dog…yes really!
by Greg Markelz
Of course we adopt a rescued animal for many reasons, not the least of which is that we feel a need to help when these wonderful animals need a forever home.
But what if we were able to reduce our healthcare costs by adopting a rescued animal? That hasn’t happened yet but maybe it should. There are many studies that confirm the fact that we become healthier when we own a dog, in particular. These animals provide healthy benefits for their owners, including lower blood pressure (mine was 118/64 at my last exam, Thanks Chipotle!) , lower risk of stroke, and a lower risk of heart failure. Owning a dog increases our physical exercise, which we know increases chances of living healthy.
The mental health benefits are harder to measure, but as dog owners we all know they are real. Dog ownership is also highly beneficial to people who live alone, since canine companionship is known to decrease anxiety, loneliness and depression. And there is just something very special about arriving home to a creature that is so excited to see you have made it safely back home, it can’t help but put you in a better mood. Instant forever home karma.
If you want to see the proof just look here, the conclusion from an article about Dog Ownership and Survival in the online source Circulation (publishes original research manuscripts, review articles, and other content related to cardiovascular health and disease)
Conclusions:
Dog ownership is associated with lower risk of death over the long term, which is possibly driven by a reduction in cardiovascular mortality.
If you want to see the article, click here: Read Article
If you want these health benefits please go adopt an animal that really needs you to rescue them and give them their forever home!
