Scientists Want To Help ‘Man’s Best Friend’ Live Longer
Dogs are amazing animals, but I feel like they drew the short stick on a lot of their life aspects. First of all, I think dogs are better than cats, so it seems really unfair that cats are so dang agile and dogs run around tripping on their ears. Another unfair trait that dogs have is the short lifespan compared to their human owners. These canines become like family and only stick around for a decade (give or take a few years).
We had a tragic event last week at my house with our dogs. Our 2 year old pup got through our pool fence while the kids were at school and ended up drowning. That silly little dog is still constantly in our thoughts and conversations. In under 2 years that we had him, he became a best friend to my family. Dogs have a special ability to make a bond with us, so if the short life they live could be extended it would be a blessing. That is what science wants to do.
The Dog Aging Project is looking to study 10,000 dogs to see in what ways science could help make their lives longer and healthier. Our little dog died unexpectedly last week but our other dog, Cody, is 12 years old we don't expect him to live many more years. We wish he could, but he is really starting to show his years and slowly losing vision and mobility. The aging study would gather data from all the dogs and also administer a drug to a certain amount of them to see if it helps or extends their lifespan.
You can nominate your own dog on the Dog Aging Project website.