Do you have any pets, or have you ever had one? If so, how have they made an impact on your life? Has caring for an animal made you healthier or happier?
In “Get a Dog, Live Longer?” Dana G. Smith explores what science says about the connection between dogs and longevity:
As a child, Dr. Dhruv Kazi was obsessed with dogs. As a cardiologist and health economist, he wrote about their health benefits. But he didn’t get one of his own until his early 40s.
In 2019, he moved to Boston to take a job as the director of the Cardiac Critical Care Unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Then Covid hit. Living alone and working in the intensive care unit, Dr. Kazi said the first year of the pandemic was “immensely isolating.”
Everything changed in 2021 when he got Rumi, a high-energy, high-affection vizsla puppy. Thanks to Rumi, Dr. Kazi started spending more time outside, got to know his neighbors and had a much-needed dose of “positive energy” and “goofiness” injected into his life.
“He was very much crucial to keeping my sanity,” Dr. Kazi said.
Research dating back decades has found that people who own pets, especially dogs, tend to be healthier than people who don’t.
Studies show that having a pet is associated with lower blood pressure, a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and lower rates of death after a heart attack or stroke. And a large review of studies published in 2019 found that owning a dog was associated with a 24 percent lower risk of dying from all causes over the course of 10 years.
The benefit is so striking when it comes to heart health that the American Heart Association even has a scientific statement devoted to it, declaring that dog ownership “may be reasonable for reduction in cardiovascular disease risk.” (The organization doesn’t advise getting a dog for the sole purpose of heart health, though.)
“Pet owners in general, but dog owners in particular, have longer, healthier lives than people who don’t have pets,” Dr. Kazi said. “The correlation is very convincing. Now the question is: Is this relationship causal?”
Students, read the entire article and then tell us:
-
Do you have a pet, or have you ever had one? If so, tell us about the animals you have cared for and how they added to your life. What is the best thing you have gained from the relationship?
-
If you don’t have a pet, have you ever wanted one? Why or why not? Have you ever had any meaningful relationships or experiences with animals?
-
What’s your reaction to the article and the studies that show that pet owners in general, and dog owners in particular, have longer, healthier lives than people who don’t have pets? Based on your own experiences and observations, does this ring true to you?
-
Dr. Kazi says that his dog, Rumi, was “crucial to keeping my sanity” during the isolation of the pandemic. Why do you think animals are often able to provide comfort and “positive energy” in ways that humans cannot? Has a pet or animal ever provided comfort or sanity when you really needed it?
-
What’s your biggest takeaway from the article? Does reading it make you want to adopt a pet or to be around animals more?
-
If you could have any pet — if space, cost and parental objections weren’t an issue — what animal would you most want to have and why?
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.
Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.
Jeremy Engle is an editor of The Learning Network who worked in teaching for more than 20 years before joining The Times.
The post How Have Pets Made Your Life Better? appeared first on New York Times.
