The Real Benefits of Having a Dog

Ever wondered why dogs are so important in our lives? Maybe you already suspected owning a dog has palpable benefits for her humans. Turns out it’s true, and some of them are actually measurable. For thousands of years in fact, dogs have been helping people—as protectors, as shepherds of livestock, even as beasts of burden—and not least of all as our best friends, loyal to a fault. What are the tangible benefits of that connection? A goofy dog makes us all laugh, but how does that laughter improve our health? And we ‘dog people’ do find ourselves walking more every week—but how much more? Let’s look at some of the advantages of having a dog by the numbers.

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