How Pets Impact Our Health
Having a pet or being around animals may have benefits for our mental and physical health. ProMedica Wellness Specialist Malena Caruso talks about her experiences with her therapy dog and how animals can impact your well-being.
Featured Speaker:
Outside of her day-to-day role working with organizations to establish wellness programming for their employees, Malena is an adjunct professor at Owens Community College, teaching a “Yoga as Medicine” course within the Health and Physical Education Department. Malena loves sharing the gifts of Yoga and encouraging people to take control over their well-being while realizing their personal responsibility for their health and well-being.
Mindful Awareness and Meditation are key skills to develop at any stage of life. As the Father of Ashtanga Yoga Pattabhi Jois said, “If you can breathe, you can do Yoga.” De-mystifying Yoga is also something Malena enjoys doing. Prior to her full-time shift to wellness, Malena spent 10 years in journalism working locally at WTOL 11 News and 13abc. She’s also an avid runner, completing her 8th marathon in Chicago in October 2022, and lives with her three labradoodles and fiancé, who she will marry in September of 2023.
Malena Caruso, MS
Malena Caruso is a Wellness Specialist for ProMedica/Paramount. She’s a certified health and well-being coach, trained at Duke Health. Malena is a seasoned yoga student and instructor with more than 10 years of experience teaching yoga. She’s trained in Ashtanga Yoga and Meditation practices.Outside of her day-to-day role working with organizations to establish wellness programming for their employees, Malena is an adjunct professor at Owens Community College, teaching a “Yoga as Medicine” course within the Health and Physical Education Department. Malena loves sharing the gifts of Yoga and encouraging people to take control over their well-being while realizing their personal responsibility for their health and well-being.
Mindful Awareness and Meditation are key skills to develop at any stage of life. As the Father of Ashtanga Yoga Pattabhi Jois said, “If you can breathe, you can do Yoga.” De-mystifying Yoga is also something Malena enjoys doing. Prior to her full-time shift to wellness, Malena spent 10 years in journalism working locally at WTOL 11 News and 13abc. She’s also an avid runner, completing her 8th marathon in Chicago in October 2022, and lives with her three labradoodles and fiancé, who she will marry in September of 2023.
Transcription:
How Pets Impact Our Health
Caitlin Whyte: Welcome to Happily Ever After 40, a podcast brought to you by ProMedica, where we discuss midlife health and wellbeing. In this episode, we'll talk about the impact pets have on our mental and physical health. Joining us is ProMedica wellness specialist, Malena Caruso, to talk about her experiences with her therapy dog and how animals can impact our wellbeing. All right. Well, Malena first and arguably the most important question. Tell us all about your dog. What is their name and a bit about them?
Malena Caruso, MS: Okay. So I could just talk to you for days about Duke . He's truly the best. He is almost six and a half in October. He'll be six and a half. He's a labradoodle, his name's Duke Bear. And he is a blessing, a little bit of a tear jerker kind of moment of how he came into my life. But in April of 2016, I found out that my grandfather had lung cancer. And three days prior to finding that out. My boss at the time had called me and said, oh my gosh, Malena, look at these puppies. My nephew's dogs had puppies and they were a litter of labradoodles.
And I just looked and I saw this brown puppy with a blue collar and I said, that's my dog. And I truly believe that God put Duke into my life for a really difficult season. And I just can tell you firsthand how incredible experiencing that unconditional love really is. I mean, he was the first embrace when I found out my grandfather had passed January of 2017. So it was kind of very divine, I think.
Caitlin Whyte: Oh, my gosh. Well, we'll get more into Duke in a bit, but today we're talking all about therapy pets in general. So start us off. What are some benefits that pets can have on our mental and physical health?
Malena Caruso, MS: Absolutely, mentally, it gives you a sense of having to care for something outside of yourself, right? Because sometimes we can get so consumed in our own issues, our own heads, our own thoughts and having an external point of focus. So having this ability to know that you have something that is relying on you, is really important. We do know from research that people who live alone without pets, without family members, don't have as great of a expected life expectancy toward the end.
There's more depression, there's more anxiety, but people who have pets or who do not live alone, Have a better quality of life. So from a physical standpoint, it gives you an excuse to go for a walk and to get your dog outside for 20 to 30 minutes a day, that means you have to go outside with them. It's really awesome. I know that with Duke and I, as a team, it, we really are a team. You have a connection. Another soul, I mean, pets are our mirrors. There's a great book called Your Dog is Your Mirror. And it's very, very true. Our dogs absorbs so much from us that we take for granted.
Caitlin Whyte: No, absolutely. Well, what are some ways that Duke has helped you? You touched on it in the first question, but if you wouldn't mind just sharing a few anecdotes or stories about how he's helped you.
Malena Caruso, MS: Yes. I mean, he became Papa, Papa's best friend. That was my grandfather. So I knew that, oh yeah. I knew that I wanted my grandfather, I wanted to learn from him and learn how should I take care of this dog? How does he become my companion? And so every time I went to go visit him, Duke was always with me and Duke had to learn how to sit next to the table and he had to learn how to be gentle and put his rest, his chin on Papa's lap toward the end. And Duke taught me so much about how to really.
Take every moment as if it's our last right. Like Duke was just so present whenever we were with Papa and that has been a huge teacher for me. And he's also taught me. To have a short memory, meaning I think sometimes as humans, as human beings, we hold on to certain things for too long, but Duke he has a short memory. He doesn't let things get to him, you know? And I think we could all use a little bit of that these days, not to take things so personally. Just truly have joy for the moment is really important.
Caitlin Whyte: No, I agree. That is so, so critical. So for people who might be looking for a therapy pet, a therapy dog, how can they start that process? I mean, how would we know where to go? Do we want a younger, older dog? What should we keep in mind when kind of looking for a companion, like this?
Malena Caruso, MS: So there are a lot of resources and there are also some things we wanna keep in mind. So for instance, Duke and I are a pet therapy team. So he is my pet, all day, every day, but we are a licensed pet therapy team. So we can then go to hospitals, nursing homes, schools, and we can provide love and compassion and smiles to people. And that's kind of how we work together. Then there are emotional support animals, which is a different category and doesn't require the same training. And that is something that you know, is documented it's for your mental or emotional health.
It's generally there's some guidance with your healthcare provider. And then there, of course are animal like a, provide a service. So service animals sometimes they're called other things. But interesting that I learned was that a service animal an example might be someone who has PTSD and they have a service animal to kind of help them alleviate when they're going to have. Like a high anxiety moment kind of thing. Those animals believe it or not are actually considered like medical equipment.
Because they are providing a specific service, they are providing a, they're part of your healthcare in a sense. So it's very interesting. So I think a lot of people these days, I mean, we have all the COVID puppies are now turning two. So I think people during COVID definitely realize they need that companionship and maybe kind of realize that they had their own therapy animal, right. Like unofficial like having that dog. I would definitely say if you are going the route of adopting a dog, making sure that you have worked with your local adoption agency.
Whether it's humane society or the canine care and control or other organizations, but making sure your temperament, so not the dog. Your temperament is in a place where you can really give what's necessary to have a dog. Because with the book that I mentioned, your dog is your mirror. It talks a lot about, you're not training the dog, you're training yourself. You're learning about yourself and your dog is a reflection of maybe some things that you need to work on. So it's really interesting. So I definitely encourage people to go visit shelters, go work with them, but also recognize that just bringing a dog into your home is one thing, but you preparing yourself is really important.
Caitlin Whyte: Absolutely. Now pets, aren't always the most accessible option. Maybe someone lives in an apartment that doesn't allow pets or they have allergies. What are some other options for people seeking out this kind of companionship and therapy, self care, but there's some hindrance there.
Malena Caruso, MS: Well, I know absolutely. I mean, that was my situation. I lived in an apartment at the time when Duke was born in April and I moved, I had to move. I mean, I took, I guess I took the extreme route, but yeah, I mean there's opportunities to potentially go volunteer. I mean, there are so many, so many volunteer opportunities for people within their communities to go volunteer at shelters. And depending on your allergies, there are dogs that are hypoallergenic. Duke is a labradoodle, and he tends to be better for people who have allergies.
And then also looking at different ways to. I think if you're looking for a connection or companionship, volunteering anywhere will really help. So even if you are allergic to dogs and you can't volunteer at a shelter, there are other great organizations probably in anyone's community where they can go volunteer and still have that same feeling of connection of compassion and things like that. So I think volunteering anywhere is really great for people who. Be able to have a pet or have allergies or things like that.
Caitlin Whyte: That is such a good point. I started volunteering locally during the pandemic or the later half of the pandemic just to get outta my house. And it definitely is so rewarding just to we're all stuck inside all day so much these days it can get a little stuffy.
Malena Caruso, MS: It's so true. And one thing that I think people forget about it. I mean, go to your local metro parks go to your state metro parks. I mean, they're always looking for volunteers and you mentioned it getting outside. I mean, that's one of the biggest blessings duke has also brought to me. I mean, he is my weekend warrior. Yeah. I mean, we've gone on road trips. We've gone hiking and camping, and yes, it's just, my mom used to always tell me, if you're having a bad day go outside because your problems will seem smaller. And I think that that's still true with, or without a pet.
Caitlin Whyte: Yeah, no, absolutely. Well, Malena, I have enjoyed this conversation so much as we wrap up today. Is there anything else you wanna let us know that we didn't touch on yet?
Malena Caruso, MS: I think it's just really important to remember. That people may have different opinions on this, but from the research I've done in my experience, there really aren't bad dogs. Sometimes dogs are just in really tough situations and we have to prepare ourselves and train ourselves to create an environment to allow that dog to truly be themselves. So I always tell people, you know, don't give dog a bad rap, sometimes it's just their situation.
Caitlin Whyte: Well, thank you, Malena for sharing and please say hello to Duke for us. And thank you for listening, until next time. Stay Happily Ever After 40.
How Pets Impact Our Health
Caitlin Whyte: Welcome to Happily Ever After 40, a podcast brought to you by ProMedica, where we discuss midlife health and wellbeing. In this episode, we'll talk about the impact pets have on our mental and physical health. Joining us is ProMedica wellness specialist, Malena Caruso, to talk about her experiences with her therapy dog and how animals can impact our wellbeing. All right. Well, Malena first and arguably the most important question. Tell us all about your dog. What is their name and a bit about them?
Malena Caruso, MS: Okay. So I could just talk to you for days about Duke . He's truly the best. He is almost six and a half in October. He'll be six and a half. He's a labradoodle, his name's Duke Bear. And he is a blessing, a little bit of a tear jerker kind of moment of how he came into my life. But in April of 2016, I found out that my grandfather had lung cancer. And three days prior to finding that out. My boss at the time had called me and said, oh my gosh, Malena, look at these puppies. My nephew's dogs had puppies and they were a litter of labradoodles.
And I just looked and I saw this brown puppy with a blue collar and I said, that's my dog. And I truly believe that God put Duke into my life for a really difficult season. And I just can tell you firsthand how incredible experiencing that unconditional love really is. I mean, he was the first embrace when I found out my grandfather had passed January of 2017. So it was kind of very divine, I think.
Caitlin Whyte: Oh, my gosh. Well, we'll get more into Duke in a bit, but today we're talking all about therapy pets in general. So start us off. What are some benefits that pets can have on our mental and physical health?
Malena Caruso, MS: Absolutely, mentally, it gives you a sense of having to care for something outside of yourself, right? Because sometimes we can get so consumed in our own issues, our own heads, our own thoughts and having an external point of focus. So having this ability to know that you have something that is relying on you, is really important. We do know from research that people who live alone without pets, without family members, don't have as great of a expected life expectancy toward the end.
There's more depression, there's more anxiety, but people who have pets or who do not live alone, Have a better quality of life. So from a physical standpoint, it gives you an excuse to go for a walk and to get your dog outside for 20 to 30 minutes a day, that means you have to go outside with them. It's really awesome. I know that with Duke and I, as a team, it, we really are a team. You have a connection. Another soul, I mean, pets are our mirrors. There's a great book called Your Dog is Your Mirror. And it's very, very true. Our dogs absorbs so much from us that we take for granted.
Caitlin Whyte: No, absolutely. Well, what are some ways that Duke has helped you? You touched on it in the first question, but if you wouldn't mind just sharing a few anecdotes or stories about how he's helped you.
Malena Caruso, MS: Yes. I mean, he became Papa, Papa's best friend. That was my grandfather. So I knew that, oh yeah. I knew that I wanted my grandfather, I wanted to learn from him and learn how should I take care of this dog? How does he become my companion? And so every time I went to go visit him, Duke was always with me and Duke had to learn how to sit next to the table and he had to learn how to be gentle and put his rest, his chin on Papa's lap toward the end. And Duke taught me so much about how to really.
Take every moment as if it's our last right. Like Duke was just so present whenever we were with Papa and that has been a huge teacher for me. And he's also taught me. To have a short memory, meaning I think sometimes as humans, as human beings, we hold on to certain things for too long, but Duke he has a short memory. He doesn't let things get to him, you know? And I think we could all use a little bit of that these days, not to take things so personally. Just truly have joy for the moment is really important.
Caitlin Whyte: No, I agree. That is so, so critical. So for people who might be looking for a therapy pet, a therapy dog, how can they start that process? I mean, how would we know where to go? Do we want a younger, older dog? What should we keep in mind when kind of looking for a companion, like this?
Malena Caruso, MS: So there are a lot of resources and there are also some things we wanna keep in mind. So for instance, Duke and I are a pet therapy team. So he is my pet, all day, every day, but we are a licensed pet therapy team. So we can then go to hospitals, nursing homes, schools, and we can provide love and compassion and smiles to people. And that's kind of how we work together. Then there are emotional support animals, which is a different category and doesn't require the same training. And that is something that you know, is documented it's for your mental or emotional health.
It's generally there's some guidance with your healthcare provider. And then there, of course are animal like a, provide a service. So service animals sometimes they're called other things. But interesting that I learned was that a service animal an example might be someone who has PTSD and they have a service animal to kind of help them alleviate when they're going to have. Like a high anxiety moment kind of thing. Those animals believe it or not are actually considered like medical equipment.
Because they are providing a specific service, they are providing a, they're part of your healthcare in a sense. So it's very interesting. So I think a lot of people these days, I mean, we have all the COVID puppies are now turning two. So I think people during COVID definitely realize they need that companionship and maybe kind of realize that they had their own therapy animal, right. Like unofficial like having that dog. I would definitely say if you are going the route of adopting a dog, making sure that you have worked with your local adoption agency.
Whether it's humane society or the canine care and control or other organizations, but making sure your temperament, so not the dog. Your temperament is in a place where you can really give what's necessary to have a dog. Because with the book that I mentioned, your dog is your mirror. It talks a lot about, you're not training the dog, you're training yourself. You're learning about yourself and your dog is a reflection of maybe some things that you need to work on. So it's really interesting. So I definitely encourage people to go visit shelters, go work with them, but also recognize that just bringing a dog into your home is one thing, but you preparing yourself is really important.
Caitlin Whyte: Absolutely. Now pets, aren't always the most accessible option. Maybe someone lives in an apartment that doesn't allow pets or they have allergies. What are some other options for people seeking out this kind of companionship and therapy, self care, but there's some hindrance there.
Malena Caruso, MS: Well, I know absolutely. I mean, that was my situation. I lived in an apartment at the time when Duke was born in April and I moved, I had to move. I mean, I took, I guess I took the extreme route, but yeah, I mean there's opportunities to potentially go volunteer. I mean, there are so many, so many volunteer opportunities for people within their communities to go volunteer at shelters. And depending on your allergies, there are dogs that are hypoallergenic. Duke is a labradoodle, and he tends to be better for people who have allergies.
And then also looking at different ways to. I think if you're looking for a connection or companionship, volunteering anywhere will really help. So even if you are allergic to dogs and you can't volunteer at a shelter, there are other great organizations probably in anyone's community where they can go volunteer and still have that same feeling of connection of compassion and things like that. So I think volunteering anywhere is really great for people who. Be able to have a pet or have allergies or things like that.
Caitlin Whyte: That is such a good point. I started volunteering locally during the pandemic or the later half of the pandemic just to get outta my house. And it definitely is so rewarding just to we're all stuck inside all day so much these days it can get a little stuffy.
Malena Caruso, MS: It's so true. And one thing that I think people forget about it. I mean, go to your local metro parks go to your state metro parks. I mean, they're always looking for volunteers and you mentioned it getting outside. I mean, that's one of the biggest blessings duke has also brought to me. I mean, he is my weekend warrior. Yeah. I mean, we've gone on road trips. We've gone hiking and camping, and yes, it's just, my mom used to always tell me, if you're having a bad day go outside because your problems will seem smaller. And I think that that's still true with, or without a pet.
Caitlin Whyte: Yeah, no, absolutely. Well, Malena, I have enjoyed this conversation so much as we wrap up today. Is there anything else you wanna let us know that we didn't touch on yet?
Malena Caruso, MS: I think it's just really important to remember. That people may have different opinions on this, but from the research I've done in my experience, there really aren't bad dogs. Sometimes dogs are just in really tough situations and we have to prepare ourselves and train ourselves to create an environment to allow that dog to truly be themselves. So I always tell people, you know, don't give dog a bad rap, sometimes it's just their situation.
Caitlin Whyte: Well, thank you, Malena for sharing and please say hello to Duke for us. And thank you for listening, until next time. Stay Happily Ever After 40.