FORT KENT, Maine — Based on a study coming out of a research lab in Arizona, I’m going to live forever.
Because, you see, it turns out the fountain of youth has been in my dog’s mouth all along.
According to several online health and dog websites, scientists at the University of Arizona are looking at human health benefits associated with, well, with what comes out of your dog.
It’s called the “Human-Animal Interaction Research Initiative, Dogs as Probiotics” study, and it’s hoping to determine whether healthy bacteria from a dog’s saliva or skin can help improve human gastrointestinal health in addition to easing symptoms of asthma and some allergies.
That’s right, doggy probiotics. The same stuff that makes yogurt so good for our tummies.
“These organisms help us survive,” Charles Raison, M.D., of the University of Arizona and the study’s principal investigator, said in the article. “If your microbial material is not rich, you’re much more susceptible to Alzheimer’s [and] even cancer is beginning to be associated with the microbial species living in our guts.”
Raison’s lab is teaming up with the Humane Society of Southern Arizona to pair 20 adults each with a foster dog for three months.
For the first three months, samples of everything that comes out either end of the dogs will be collected and analyzed.
In phase two of the study, researchers will determine if or how the dog’s presence improved the human’s immune systems.
In perhaps the best part of the whole study, free food and veterinary care will be provided for the dogs during the study and, once it’s over, the human participants have the option of adopting the dog.
Now, as one who has lived with dogs pretty much my whole life, I have never doubted the connection between dogs and human happiness.
Countless studies have shown how dogs reduce stress, comfort the sick and bring a smile to just about anyone with their antics.
I’ve seen firsthand how my own father, now in hospice level care, perks up when Corky the Shusky walks into the room.
But the HAIRI — that acronym can’t be a coincidence — is taking things to a new, cellular level.
Certainly, this isn’t the first time science and dog drool have collided.
In the 1890s, Ivan Pavlov demonstrated classical conditioning by ringing a bell each time a dog was shown food until eventually all the dog had to do was hear a bell and it would start to salivate.
One can only wonder whether the technique can be used to collect modern, medicinal doggy drool.
Here at the Rusty Metal Kennel, the resident sled dogs need little encouragement to produce saliva samples.
In fact, after certain winter training runs, it’s possible to break frozen chunks of it off the gangline — the line that connects the sled dogs to the dog sled.
At other times, they transfer it to humans with gleeful, slobbery doggy kisses.
And let’s be honest, if the HAIRI study does determine the probiotics dogs carry around in their mouths are beneficial to humans, administering them via canine kisses beats out getting a shot any day of the week, as far as I’m concerned.
My friend and fellow dog-lover Margaret seems to have a bit of a jump on the HAIRI study.
This week, she told me about a Siberian husky she once had that she said insisted on licking mosquito bites Margaret had.
“Anytime I was bitten [by mosquitos] I’d scratch unconsciously, and Duke was on point taking care of the bites,” she said. “Initially, I dissuaded him of doing so. But when I noticed how quickly they healed, I let him do so.”
If there’s one thing we don’t lack here on Rusty Metal Farm, it’s huskies and mosquitos, so you can bet I’m going to be looking at the sled dogs for some itch relief as bug season cranks up here in the north.
According to the study’s website, science has demonstrated the “good” bacteria in our intestinal tracts are important to maintain all aspects of human health.
“We know that not all bacteria are good; we can get very sick from the ‘bad’ bacteria, and modern medicine has done a wonderful job of protecting us from various diseases that are created by these bacteria,” according to the site. “But unfortunately, it seems, that by eliminating the bad bacteria we’ve started eliminating the ‘good’ bacteria, too.”
Previous research apparently has shown people who own dogs are more likely to share the same kinds of good bacteria with their dogs.
Children who live with dogs have also been shown to be less likely to develop a range of immune related disorders and allergies, the study authors claim.
“We’ve all heard about probiotics through pills and yogurt,” according to the HAIRI website. “But what if owning a dog had the same effect on us? And what if they help improve the immune systems of the whole family?”
It really is exciting to think about. Dogs already do so much for us: protectors, companions, assist and entertain. It’s not at all hard to believe there are tangible medical benefits as well.
The HAIRI study is just getting underway, but I plan on following it from start to finish.
Given the amount of potentially human immune-boosting dog drool and other “contributions” with which I am in daily contact, there is little doubt I’m going to have all the time in the world to do so.
