Want Your Human to Live Longer? Good Dog!

If you were looking for an excuse to amble down to your local animal shelter and bring home a furry pal, you are now scientifically justified in ignoring the cat section: Swedish researchers in a massive study of 3.4 million people found that those with dogs had a significantly lower mortality rate, they write in Scientific Reports. 

Of particular note:  "We see effects in the single households that are much stronger than in multiple-person households," says Uppsala University epidemiology professor and co-author Tove Fall, who's now has a 5-month-old puppy. "If you have a dog you neutralize the effects of living alone." Dog owners who lived alone had a 33% lower mortality rate over the course of a dozen years than single non-owners, and 11% lower risk of cardiovascular disease. Dogs owners who also lived with other humans had a 15% lower mortality rate than their counterparts with spotless couches.

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