Pet power: how pets can be good for your health

Why this matters

As a vet, I am often asked whether keeping a pet is good for people. Scientists have studied the bond between people and animals for decades. Here is what the better studies say, and where their limits are. Most of them were done in Europe, North America and Australia, so we do not yet know how well the results apply in Bangladesh.

A healthier heart

In 2019, scientists pooled 10 studies with more than 3.8 million people (Kramer and colleagues, 2019). Compared with people without a dog, dog owners had:

• 24 percent lower risk of dying from any cause during the studies.
• 31 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease or stroke, in the studies that measured it.
• 65 percent lower risk of dying among people who had already had a heart attack or other coronary event.

The authors point out that these studies could not fully adjust for other differences. Healthier, fitter or better-off people may be more likely to own a dog in the first place.

More active days

Walking a dog gets people moving. In a UK community study, dog owners were about four times more likely than people without a dog to reach the recommended 150 minutes of physical activity a week. Their other activity was no lower, so dog walking was extra activity, not a replacement (Westgarth and colleagues, 2019).

Mood, stress and loneliness

• During lockdown. In a survey of almost 6,000 adults in the UK during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown, people with a pet reported smaller drops in mental health and smaller rises in loneliness than people without one (Ratschen and colleagues, 2020). The lead author said the effect was small and is no reason to get a pet just to protect your mental health.
• Stress. In a trial with 249 university students in the USA, 10 minutes of petting cats and dogs lowered their levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, compared with students who only watched or saw photos (Pendry and Vandagriff, 2019). The effect was short-lived.

If you feel low or anxious for a long time, talk to a doctor. A pet can be good company, but it is not a treatment for depression or anxiety.

Babies and gut bacteria

A Canadian study of 746 babies found that those whose families had a furry pet during pregnancy and after birth were more than twice as likely to have high levels of two gut bacteria, Ruminococcus and Oscillospira (Tun and colleagues, 2017). Other studies have linked these bacteria with fewer allergies and less childhood obesity. This is early work: it does not show that pets prevent allergies or obesity.

Meeting people

Pets help people get to know their neighbours. In a study across four cities in Australia and the USA, people with pets were more likely than others to get to know people in their neighbourhood. About a quarter of those who met neighbours through their pet made a friend, and 42 percent got some kind of help or support from people they met this way. Dog owners benefited most (Wood and colleagues, 2015).

One Health: healthy pets, healthy families

One Health is the idea that the health of people, animals and the environment we share are connected, and that doctors, vets and others need to work together (CDC). A pet brings its benefits only if it is healthy, and some diseases can pass between animals and people.

Rabies is the clearest example in Bangladesh. Dogs cause up to 99 percent of human rabies cases worldwide, and once symptoms start, rabies is almost always fatal (WHO). At the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Mohakhali, Dhaka, the number of people treated for dog and cat bites rose from 94,380 in 2023 to 146,243 in 2025, while health officials said dog vaccination in Dhaka has effectively stopped since 2024 (Prothom Alo, 2026). Every pet you vaccinate is one less animal that can carry rabies to your family or your neighbours.

To keep both your pet and your family healthy (CDC):

• Keep up with your pet's vaccines, deworming, and flea and tick control, and take them to a vet regularly.
• Wash your hands after feeding your pet, handling pet food or cleaning up after them.
• Take extra care if someone at home is younger than 5, older than 65, pregnant or has a weak immune system, as they are more likely to catch diseases from animals.
• If anyone is bitten or scratched by an animal, wash the wound at once with soap and running water for at least 15 minutes, and see a doctor the same day (WHO).

Looking after street animals is part of One Health too. A street dog or cat that is vaccinated, dewormed and neutered is safer for everyone around it.