This week, Joe and Terry Graydon welcome your stories and questions about living with animals.Does having a cat purring on your lap help you calm down after a busy day? Is dog walking part of your exercise routine? Tell us about your pet 888-472-3366 Between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. ET. Or send your story in advance to radio@peoplespharmacy.com. Veterinarian Chuck Miller and Veterinary Technician Kevlin Swepston are on hand to answer your questions and answer your reports.
You can listen through your local public radio station or receive the live stream at 7 a.m. ET on your computer or smartphone at wunc.org. Here is a link so you can find out which stations are broadcasting our broadcasts. If you can't listen to the broadcast, we recommend listening to the podcast later. You can subscribe through your favorite podcast provider, download the MP3 using the link at the bottom of the page, or listen to a stream of this post starting March 25, 2023.
Healing power of pets:
March 16, 2024 Scott Simon tells Weekend Edition how his family's lives have been taken over by animals including a French poodle, a white cat and a hamster. Many of us share our homes with animals and wouldn't consider it any other way. Although they sometimes face challenges (Scott Simon's dog Daisy ate a chocolate bar and required emergency veterinary care!), our animal friends enrich our lives. I'll give it to you. Research shows that dog owners are more likely to survive a heart attack or stroke (Circulation: cardiovascular quality and outcomes, October 8, 2019). Previous studies have shown that people who live with dogs typically get more exercise, so that may be part of the explanation. But that may not be all.
Dogs and cats aren't the only creatures that share our homes. Aquariums are popular, and research has shown that watching fish swim in a tank can help humans relax. Heart rate and blood pressure decrease (PLoS One, July 29, 2019). Some people feel that fish provide companionship, but it is unclear whether fish feel the same way.
How do pets affect our health?
Some scientific research focuses on harmful pathogens that animals and humans in the same household can share. However, one study that looked at pet owners' microbiomes found a decrease in pathogenic bacteria and an increase in beneficial bacteria (veterinary research, March 11, 2024). Researchers note that while people have changed the way they interact with their pets over the past few decades, research is still struggling to keep up with their impact on both human and animal health. .
Dogs' amazing ability to sniff out danger:
Dogs have a highly developed sense of smell, and this is their primary way of experiencing the world. The researchers found that dogs can be trained to sniff out scents that can be traces of a variety of cancers, including melanoma, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, and breast cancer. With training, dogs can also learn how to detect infectious diseases with high accuracy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers were able to train dogs to quickly detect coronavirus infections. Several airports have used this feature to screen travelers.
Dogs may also be able to alert people to episodes of hypoglycemia or epileptic seizures. Few pets actually provide these important medical services in our homes, but many can.
Therapy animals we welcome:
Some hospitals, including Duke Hospital, maintain programs that allow certain patients to interact with therapy animals. These specially trained pets (usually dogs) provide companionship, cheer, and remind us of home. The coordinator of Duke University's Pet Therapy for Cancer Patients program will also be on hand to answer questions.
Please tell us about your family companions. How do you think human-animal interactions affect your health? You can email us before or during the show: radio@peoplespharmacy.com.You can also make a call 888-472-3366 Saturday, March 23, 2024 between 7:00 a.m. and 7:50 a.m. EST.
This week's guest:
Charles Miller, DVM, is the owner of Triangle Veterinary Hospital in Durham, North Carolina. Dr. Miller has been serving pets and animal owners in the area for his 32 years. His website is https://trianglevet.com/.
Charles Miller, DVM
Kevlin Swepston, RVT, is the Oncology Volunteer Services and Pet Coordinator at Duke University. She serves as the primary point of contact for pet therapy at Duke Health by overseeing the operations of the Pets at Duke program, including initial and ongoing evaluations of the therapy dog team. Kevlin ensures that the therapy dog team provides patients with important companionship, develops and maintains physical function, provides emotional support, and is a welcome distraction throughout their stay at Duke University.
Kevlin Swepston, RVT
Listen to the podcast:
The podcast of this show will be released on Monday, March 25, 2024, after the March 23 broadcast. You can stream shows and download podcasts for free from this site.
