{"id":837769,"date":"2026-07-31T08:22:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T08:22:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/837769\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T08:22:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T08:22:36","slug":"why-pets-may-help-your-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/837769\/","title":{"rendered":"Why pets may help your mental health"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Featured topic and speakers<\/p>\n<p>A wagging tail, a gentle purr or simply having a loyal companion by your side can make a world of difference.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Join us as we explore the science behind the human-animal bond and how pets may help combat loneliness, reduce stress, increase feelings of connection and support a healthier, happier life. Discover why our furry friends may be one of the most powerful sources of comfort and community.<\/p>\n<p>Want more content like this? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ama-assn.org\/public-health\/chronic-diseases\/do-pets-make-us-healthier\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Find out if pets make us healthier<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>SpeakersCourtney Campbell, DVM, DACVS-SA, veterinary surgeon<\/p>\n<p>Transcript<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Campbell: When pets are in your life, something extraordinary is happening. I see it every day in my surgery practice. People aren&#8217;t just there for their animals, they&#8217;re there for what the animal means to them. In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a report about loneliness, and they said that the effect of loneliness can be as unhelpful as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. Pets can combat loneliness.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>When you stroke a pet that you love, you get a rise in oxytocin, rise in dopamine, rise in prolactin, rise in beta endorphins, and a reduction in cortisol and other stress hormones.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Amanda: I mean, he&#8217;s incredibly funny and demanding, so it forces me to have to be up and aware. I also just finished grad school in mental health, so I&#8217;m now a therapist and genuinely having him with me for that ride. I don&#8217;t think I would have gotten through it without him.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Campbell: A lot of people feel like pets may be just filling the gap for lonely people. That&#8217;s not necessarily the case. Pets bring people in. When you&#8217;re at the dog park, you may speak to somebody, you may join a cat community or you may bond online over the connection you have and the love you have of pet ownership.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Amanda: I absolutely feel happier and healthier with Toulouse in my life.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Disclaimer:\u00a0The viewpoints expressed in this video are those of the participants and\/or do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the AMA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Featured topic and speakers A wagging tail, a gentle purr or simply having a loyal companion by your&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":837770,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[49,48,84,393,394],"class_list":["post-837769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=837769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837769\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/837770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=837769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=837769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=837769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}