What Dogs Are Teaching Us About Cancer
What Dogs Are Teaching Us About Cancer
“Dogs have evolved with humans over thousands of years, from the point in which we were trying to domesticate them,” says research specialist Kimberly Kelly.
“We really wanted to see if there’s something deeper that’s going on and if that mechanism might actually be bacterial because of that evolution, the sort of ‘old friends’ idea,” Kelly says.
Researchers paired shelter dogs with people who didn’t own one and collected fecal, saliva, and skin samples from both. They wanted to see if the dog’s presence changed the bacteria in the gut and eased digestion. They are also studying whether the bacteria dogs have could affect humans’ allergies and their immune systems. Kelly expects to have preliminary results by early in 2016.
“Anecdotally, people would tell me their digestion was better. Who knows, that could be stress. The dog is bringing the stress down,” Kelly says. They plan a larger study if results bear out.
It’s already been a win for the dogs. Of the 16 in the study, study participants permanently adopted 14.
Sandie Kirchner and her husband hadn’t had a dog in 20 years. But when the retired couple heard about the study, they volunteered.
Kirchner, of Tucson, AZ, doesn’t know what biological effects came from having April, the 3-year-old Chihuahua mix, in the home. But their new best friend has made life better.
“I don’t know if it actually changed the probiotics in my body -- probably it did. I know my husband’s blood pressure dropped, so his cardiologist changed his medication,” she says. “Having a dog in the house just makes us smile, so that makes us happier. I walk her a couple times a day, so I’ve met all kinds of new neighbors, so I guess that’s improved my mental health.”
What Dogs Are Teaching Us About Cancer
Do Dogs Make Us Healthier? continued...
“Dogs have evolved with humans over thousands of years, from the point in which we were trying to domesticate them,” says research specialist Kimberly Kelly.
“We really wanted to see if there’s something deeper that’s going on and if that mechanism might actually be bacterial because of that evolution, the sort of ‘old friends’ idea,” Kelly says.
Researchers paired shelter dogs with people who didn’t own one and collected fecal, saliva, and skin samples from both. They wanted to see if the dog’s presence changed the bacteria in the gut and eased digestion. They are also studying whether the bacteria dogs have could affect humans’ allergies and their immune systems. Kelly expects to have preliminary results by early in 2016.
“Anecdotally, people would tell me their digestion was better. Who knows, that could be stress. The dog is bringing the stress down,” Kelly says. They plan a larger study if results bear out.
It’s already been a win for the dogs. Of the 16 in the study, study participants permanently adopted 14.
Sandie Kirchner and her husband hadn’t had a dog in 20 years. But when the retired couple heard about the study, they volunteered.
Kirchner, of Tucson, AZ, doesn’t know what biological effects came from having April, the 3-year-old Chihuahua mix, in the home. But their new best friend has made life better.
“I don’t know if it actually changed the probiotics in my body -- probably it did. I know my husband’s blood pressure dropped, so his cardiologist changed his medication,” she says. “Having a dog in the house just makes us smile, so that makes us happier. I walk her a couple times a day, so I’ve met all kinds of new neighbors, so I guess that’s improved my mental health.”
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