notes. “People want to talk about your dog! They want to stop and pet your dog —and that kind of thing. So there [are] the tasks they perform, and then there's the non-task-related benefits that are equally, if not more significant in terms of just improving overall quality of life and independence.”
American Heart Association notes that adults over 65 who walk 6,000–8,000 steps per day have a 40–50% lower risk of early death compared to those walking 2,000 steps. The benefits aren’t limited to dog owners. A 2023 longitudinal study in Geriatrics & Gerontology International followed seniors over three years and concluded that pet ownership broadly—whether dogs, cats, or birds—was associated with “slower declines in mobility and activities of daily living (ADLs).” Participants with pets retained abilities like climbing stairs and bathing independently longer than non-pet owners, likely due to the incremental physical demands of pet care. “This is a real partnership,” says Sullivan. “[Pets] are with their partners 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. So they're literally tackling life together. To have a partner doing that with you— to have that unconditional love, to have that safety and that confidence again—is just really dramatic. All of those things help to create a better quality of life—a happier life, a more social life.” SHARP MINDS, HAPPY HEARTS: HOW PETS STIMULATE COGNITIVE ENGAGEMENT
STAYING ACTIVE: THE PHYSICAL BENEFITS OF PET OWNERSHIP
For 70-year-old retired nurse Harold, adopting Benny, a spirited terrier mix, wasn’t just about companionship—it was a prescription for movement. “Before Benny, I’d maybe walk to the mailbox and back,” Harold says. “Now, rain or shine, we do three laps around the park every morning. He keeps me active.” It turns out Harold isn’t alone. Research shows that seniors who own dogs take about 2,000 more steps a day—roughly a mile more—than non-owners. A 2021 study published in the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity analyzed accelerometer data from 200 seniors and found that dog owners aged 65+ averaged 2,000 more daily steps than non-owners, a difference researchers tied to “better cardiovascular health outcomes.” This gap, equivalent to roughly a mile of walking daily, can meaningfully impact longevity: the
A 2022 systematic review in Aging &
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