EPISODE 22: Pets, Paws & Wellness
- autoimmunesisterho
- Jan 14
- 17 min read
BECKY: Welcome back to autoimmune adventures. Today we're going to be talking about pets, paws and wellness, the advantages that owning a pet has for people with autoimmune disease. Before we talk about that though, we're going to jump into our good bit minute, which we get from Emory University. They recently released a study that shows some really awesome possibilities in treating autoimmune diseases that result from a body's inability to regulate IgG antibodies. Myothesia Gravis, or MG. So probably most people know it as MG. It's a chronic autoimmune disorder where antibodies block communication between the nerves and muscles. It can cause muscle weakness and other complications like double vision, difficulty swallowing, and in some cases, serious breathing difficulties.
Researchers at Emory University discovered a family of enzymes that actually reduce IgG mediated pathologies in diseases like MG. So this, these new enzymes were found to be more effective in reducing the symptoms at a much lower dose than any current medications that are available for MG. 4000 times less of the enzyme was needed to create the same biological effects as the current medications have. So, for patients, this means that a more effective lower dose can actually mean less side effects and a lot of different options for how the drug is administered. And with that, let's jump into our episode.
STACY: All right, so as an example of why pets are important, I want to tell you a story about my dog Bentley. We've lived in Texas for about 14 years, and right before we were coming to Texas, we were looking for a pug. My husband loves pugs, and we found one at DFW Pug Rescue by the name of Bentley, and we thought, you know, if he's still available, we'll adopt him. When we got to Texas, he wasn't. But then in a miraculous turn of events, three years later, we ended up coming across an ad on Craigslist for a free pug. "I'm just looking for a good home." And we said, "You know, we'd love to take him."
And we went in, and we met the guy, and he had adopted the dog we had wanted to adopt three years before, and it was Bentley. So I knew this dog was supposed to be mine. Back in 2017, when I got horribly ill with what we can only assume was some kind of metabolic shutdown, I became so ill that I was bed bound for several days, and I didn't know if I was going to live or not.
But what I do remember the most about that time, is that while I was laying there ill, while I was in so much pain, my sweet little Bentley pug would come up and he would sit next to me. He would, actually stick himself right next to me and then throw himself backwards so that his head would sit in my armpit and he was laying on his back like a person and he would just lay there. When I was in a lot of pain, he would lay over the top of my sore stomach, like a hot water bottle and he just innately knew what I needed.
He was loving and caring, and he kept me company when I was alone, and there wasn't anything anyone could do for me anyway, but the one thing I had, the one constant that I had during that time, was that I had this sweet little dog who loved me, and he took care of me. I can tell you right now that I was able to heal and able to get well, because I felt so loved, and I didn't feel lonely and sad at my lowest.
I've always had my animals make me feel better, and I think that we have a lot of low times with autoimmunity, and we all need ourselves someone like Bentley to keep us happy and upbeat and excited. Pets have long been cherished companions. They offer us unconditional love, and research, it shows that interacting with animals can significantly reduce our stress hormones.
And if we can get rid of cortisol, we feel better. It leads to a calmer and more relaxed state of mind. And other studies have also linked pet ownership to less loneliness and depression, and I definitely can say that that's the case. As pets provide a consistent source of companionship and emotional support, caring for a pet can also encourage a more active lifestyle, which is really good for us. It promotes physical and mental well being, and these are all great reasons that you may want to consider having a pet.
ALYSIA: So as Stacy said, there's real science behind the benefits of pet ownership. And those studies show that they have a positive impact on our health in ways like lowering our heart rates, lowering our blood pressure, um, less anxiety, less depression. And we'll provide some links to those studies in our show notes.
The stress reduction and the improvement in our immune function is pretty marked, because pets can help reduce that stress and anxiety that ultimately has a positive impact on our immune system, right? They make us do stuff. They make us get out of our house.
If we need to walk a dog, they make us move around. If we need to play with our cats, if we've got to clean a cage, if we've got to clean a fishbowl, you know, like there's, they make us do something outside of ourselves. I think that there is a level of selflessness that we have to give in order to take care of these animals that kind of gets us out of our headspace of "Poor me. I'm sick. I don't feel good." Whatever. We don't really love being in that headspace anyway. But when you have to focus on another living animal that depends on you, it kind of helps you get out of your selfish mindset. I'm not trying to say we're all selfish, but it can be very all consuming when you are living with an autoimmune disease when you are sick, so pets just kind of have a way of bringing us out of that head space, which I think is really beneficial.
And they just bring happiness. I would be a crazy cat lady. I think I've said this before, but I would be a crazy cat lady. My husband has kept me to three cats, which is very generous of him, actually. And we have a dog. Each of those animals bring such happiness into our home. They love all of us differently. Each of the animals has a favorite person, and they each have their own little personalities. They just make our home a happier place. And I really believe I've said this before as well, but I really believe that animals are empaths, especially cats and dogs.
My cat Gilbert named after Gilbert Blythe from "Anne of Green Gables," because he was a handsome boy. He was especially aware of emotions, and I know I told a story in one of our previous episodes about how kind of a turning point for me in my health, when I was sick, I was recovering from a hysterectomy, and I got COVID and I was terribly, terribly sick.
And my one son was a senior in high school and he was playing a playoff game. And he was supposed to win this game. Their team was supposed to win this game and they didn't. And I was not able to go to the game because I was so sick. And so I was sitting at home, feeling like death, and I had just gotten off the phone with my son who was very upset that he had lost his game and I was clearly upset that I had missed his last game ever. And I got up to go to the bathroom, and my little cat Gil was sitting on the front porch, looking up at me with his big eyes, waiting to come in. And so I let him in and I went to the bathroom and I sat back down on the couch and I just started crying.
Partly because I was in so much pain, and I was so sick and just so miserable. Partly because I was feeling very helpless and sorry for myself, and mostly because I had just missed my son's last football game that he would ever play. And my little cat came up and just laid down on my chest and rested his little head against my face and just sat there and didn't demand affection, didn't move around, just sat there. Sat there and rested and was present with me, and I won't ever forget it. It was the most calming, loving experience. Like I, I will never forget it. He was so sweet and so gentle with me when I needed that kind of love extended to me, and that is the kind of support that animals can give you it's true.
BECKY: One of the ones that maybe we don't always think of is animals can also help us foster...I mean, obviously they foster social connections between us and the animal, like Alysia was just talking about, but a lot of times we talk about how when you have autoimmune diseases, you can feel solitary. Very...you don't get a lot of social opportunities, and so sometimes having pets can actually help facilitate social interactions and help build your community in ways that you wouldn't expect.
For instance, if you take your dog to a dog park, you meet people there that are also dog lovers. One of the interesting studies when we were looking at studies for this, they found people in wheelchairs who often disabled people, they were talking about how they quite often when they go into public, a lot of people almost deliberately don't look at them like they're afraid to stare or whatever, and they, in a sense, almost get ignored a lot of times. And so they did this study that showed that people in wheelchairs who have their service animal with them, or even just a pet on a leash, they said they received more smiles, more positive interactions with people, and they felt seen, which is a very awesome way that animals can provide that community for us.
I know for us, kind of an interesting play on it, like I've mentioned before, I live on a small farm and so we've had a variety of animals in the 11 years that we've lived here. And as we've had animals, and we've bred goats and rabbits and different things, and we have people who come to buy them. We've met some really amazing people that we would not have met had we not been doing farming and working with our farm animals.
So animals in many different ways are great ways to build community. One of the great ones that we would be remiss if we didn't mention is the importance of service animals. Most people usually consider dogs when they have service animals, but honestly, there's different kinds I've seen service cats. They're a little harder to train, obviously. One of the fun ones is that there are actually several states in the United States that recognize miniature horses as service animals because they're able to successfully train miniature horses.
I think a lot of us are aware of the service animals that like seeing eye dogs that help the blind. There are ones that can detect medical issues like seizures, but there's also a lot of service animals that can help with autoimmune diseases. There are dogs that can detect low blood sugar and there are ones that can detect low blood pressure or heart anomalies. Dogs that can detect gluten, peanuts, and other allergens.
They have ones that they specifically train for lupus so that they can help people that have severe lupus with everyday tasks like fetching and picking things up. They can bring you your medicine. They actually have dogs that are trained - how they do this, I don't know - but they train them to help you remember your medicine. So they come and, and signal you when it's time for you to have your medicine. These dogs, they can detect when you're going to have a possible anxiety attack. If that's something that happens, especially if you're out in public, they can detect cardiac episodes, like I mentioned. And so those are ones that are specific to the lupus ones, but obviously it could be a lot of other diseases that have those same problems. A lot of other autoimmune diseases. So that's something else that we will have in our show notes is some of the references and places where you can get service animals.
Be aware that even though service animals tend to be fairly expensive, and when I say fairly expensive, I mean like a well-trained service animal can be upwards of $30,000 to $40, 000. They have a lot of organizations that if you qualify for them will help you pay for that. They also have other options that we'll include in the show notes for service animals that if you already have an animal that has the right temperament to be a service animal, they have special programs where you can train your own animal that you already have, and those are a little less expensive than actually buying one that's already been trained. Those are some great options and we'll have that information for you in the show notes.
STACY: Obviously, if you need a service animal, there are great ways you can go about finding one. However, what if you just want a pet? What are some of the things that you need to consider when you're getting one? I think the most important thing you need to consider is your lifestyle.
Don't get something like a Border Collie if you don't have a large piece of land. A large backyard or an ability to get out and run with your dog. A Border Collie has to have either a job or a lot of time to blow running around outside.
You need to think about a pet that fits your living situation. Are you renting? If so, make sure you get a dog that can be okay in an apartment, and is also okay with a slightly more sedentary lifestyle than like a Border Collie. Which isn't. Think about the time commitments that you have. Some dogs need to be walked for lengthy periods of time. And I know a lot of people say, "Oh, well, I want to get a dog because it will help me be more healthy," but then they have problems with a really bad flare, or in my case, lupus. So it's great in theory to say, "Oh, I'll get out and I'll walk," and I can get out and walk with the dog.
The problem is that when it gets sunny outside, I suddenly am in a situation where the dog still needs to be walked, but the sun is now my enemy. And how do I deal with my dog's needs versus the situation that I need to protect myself? So you have to think about those short term and long term things.
You also have to realize animals cost money. It's not free. You need money for food. You need to have a nice place for them to sleep No, I'm not going to tell you you shouldn't have your dog in your bed with you, I'm, just gonna say that for me with my lupus, sleeping with a dog at night is a bad idea. I take naps with my dogs all the time, but at night, I crate them because I cannot sleep if I'm bombarded by animals. You have to be realistic about your energy levels with your disease and think What is going to work best for me?
And you need to consider all the aspects of pet ownership. Fish, reptiles, animals like hamsters and guinea pigs are often labeled as low energy pets. But really, are they really low energy when you have to do regular cleaning of the tank and the enclosure and those kind of things? And some of us have allergies from our autoimmunity, and so you need to make sure that you are doing something that allows you to still care for the animal and give it the love and care it needs without it jeopardizing you.
So some of us have the energy to do regular cleaning. Some of us don't. Keep that in mind. The nice thing is if you get, for instance, a cat, you can get something like a robotic litter box. And so it's less effort for you and you only have to pull out the bag every couple of days instead of having to constantly scoop and keep it clean. So there are lots of ways, but you just have to do your research and look into things.
ALYSIA: Yeah, I think it's important to make sure that when you're choosing an animal, you make sure that you are going to consistently have the energy to dedicate to it and the money to dedicate to it, right?
Don't be buying an expensive, exotic animal that you can't afford to take care of. Don't be buying, like Stacy said, a high energy breed that you don't have the energy levels to help it release its energy, so then it misbehaves in your house. Don't get an animal that you don't have the energy to train.
They deserve to be trained. to have a good home. And so when you're choosing an animal, choose one that makes sense for your lifestyle. Choose one that is not going to be a stress or a burden to you, but it's going to be a blessing in your life.
BECKY: I was going to say one of the things you also want to consider is if you get some of these non-traditional pets, and some of them are a lot of fun, but anything that falls into an exotic pet category, and that even includes rabbits, your veterinary care is going to be more expensive.
Exotic Vets are almost always more expensive than just regular cat/dog vets.
ALYSIAS: Those non-traditional pets or more exotic pets can be a lot of fun. I know they can. Rabbits, ferrets, sugar gliders, bearded dragons, snakes. If you are looking for an emotional support animal that follows you everywhere, keep in mind that a lot of those kinds of animals, they do not exhibit affection the way a cat or a dog might.
Learn about the animal that you want to have in your home, really research, really study, dig deep before you invest in one. Great example, my husband and I were newlyweds and we decided it would be fun to have a ferret. Oh guys, we were so young and dumb. It was fun to have a ferret, and she was just so smart, she was funny. She was cute. She was mischievous and extremely entertaining, but she was also stinky, and had to be bathed regularly. And you think bathing a cat is difficult. Try bathing a ferret. Her cage was gross. Like she was expensive. She was a high, high maintenance animal. And for young newlyweds, we were able to do that, and it was not that big of a deal.
However, I shudder to think what it would be like to have a ferret in my life right now. As much as we loved her, there's no way I could deal with an animal that was that high maintenance right now. So, times and seasons in your life. Think about the right kind of animal that fits your lifestyle. When you can adopting a pet is the way to go, but sometimes there's a reason to get a specific breed, right? And sometimes there's a reason to get a specific age of animal. Of course, adopting is a good choice. Of course, that's the way to go. But if you need an animal in your life, for emotional support to get you moving, whatever it may be, please consider if you could find an animal through adoption first. If you can't, no judgment here. We would always recommend that be the first way to go.
STACY: So I've already talked about the fact that I adopted a pug and the pug that I have now is an adoption. However, I also have a mini schnauzer. You don't usually find schnauzers in rescues. They're, they're hard to find in a rescue because they're very devoted to their family.
I wanted a schnauzer, I'd wanted a schnauzer my whole life, and when I went to look at them, I found this little puppy that was very obviously in need of being rescued, so I still consider her a rescue even though she was a puppy, but my point is this I knew what kind of dog I wanted. I knew what I needed, and I made a wonderful choice.
She is very much my dog and is very, very devoted to me, but I went ahead and got a puppy. But I've always been a diehard adopter. I think it really is like Alysia was saying about looking at your circumstance, looking at your needs. And I wanted a very specific temperament, which is why I chose a miniature schnauzer.
I did my research, I guess is what I'm trying to say is I did my research. I knew what I was looking for. I knew what I needed. And I have not once regretted the choice I made.
ALYSIA: Yeah. And I think if you're not in a hurry, and you work with different rescues, you can find the kind of pet you want. I really do. It's just a matter of being patient. Bentley's a perfect example. He was the sweetest soul you'll ever meet in dog form. He was an adoption. You know, he came from a rescue.
BECKY: Exactly, and don't be ashamed. Cause I think especially social media really gets into this. It's almost wanting to damn people that choose to get an animal that's not an adoption. Don't fall for that if you have specific needs like the, the perfect example for us, as I've mentioned, I live on a farm. We do adoption where we can, like all of our barn cats, they're all adoptions. Our dogs, however, we always choose very carefully because we need livestock guardians because we have a lot of coyotes where we live and a lot of other predators.
And so we need dogs that will not just be companions for us, but we'll also protect our other livestock and our poultry. We've tried the rescue thing. We actually did have one livestock guardian that was a rescue. He was bred that way though. And we knew ahead of time that he was previously trained, but we have tried a couple of other times where we got a dog that that just didn't mesh, like we brought him home and we had to re-home them because they were killing all the poultry ,or whatever it was. So if you have a specific need, and I know farms are a little bit different than if you're just getting something for just a pet. But still, if you have a specific need, or need a specific temperament, don't let people guilt you into choosing something if you need to, if, if you're going to buy a puppy or a kitten and not necessarily adopt.
ALYSIA: Yeah, and that goes for rehoming ones that don't fit in well with you, right, Beck? I mean, you said that you're, you were, correct me if I'm wrong, but you had a puppy that you were rehoming that wasn't fitting in well with you when you took it to this rescue and that is where you found Miller, your, your... the other dog you adopted.
BECKY: Yeah, so our first livestock guardian and it was a hard choice guys. We loved her, but she had a streak of aggression that we couldn't get out of her and she was, she wasn't good with the poultry. She did a great job keeping the coyotes away because she was aggressive, but she got aggressive enough we were actually concerned about her hurting children that would come to the farm, so we knew we were going to have to rehome her and it was a hard thing. I got a hold of a livestock guardian rescue, and we took her there and I cried that day, honestly, it was really hard.
But as we were going around and doing this, they had an older dog that was following us and we didn't think anything of it and they had probably 15 dogs. And it was really amazing to see cause Daisy, our dog that we had brought to the rescue that was aggressive and had problems. We were a little bit nervous when she first came into the group of dogs that they had, but it was actually the exact dynamic she needed.
She needed some dogs that were more alpha than she was that put her in her place immediately, but she was accepted into the group and did well. It turned out like a couple of months later. they said they had retrained her with the group of dogs they had and they got her on a team, and she went to a sheep farm and was doing way better, which was fantastic.
The whole point that at least he was making is as this was going on. And we were talking to the people about what we'd done to train her, how we'd already vetted her, she'd already been spayed, she'd already had all her vaccinations, all these things. And the lady seemed really impressed that we had taken care of her so well.
And as we were getting ready to leave, she said, "Do you want Miller?" And we said, "What are you talking about?" It was this dog that had been following us around the whole time. And she said, "I've never seen him take to somebody the way that he's taken to you." And she said, "and you can just have him." She said, "I've been trying to find him a good home."
She had one of the other dogs that was more aggressive, had been picking on him and she was worried. We ended up taking Miller home with us. What an incredible dog he was! He was actually the one who trained our current dog, that we've had for 10 years. Probably the best livestock guardian dog we've ever had. And he trained our amazing dog that we have now.
ALYSIA: So don't be afraid to take your time, do your research. There are animals out there that are not going to be a good fit for you. And sometimes you don't know that until they're in your home.
We're huge advocates of happy life with a happy animal. We hope that you guys enjoyed this.
We love to hear animal stories. We want to see your pictures of your fur babies. We love, love animals here. And we hope that you will consider how they could enrich your life. Thanks for joining us today. You can find us on autoimmuneadventures. com, and remember, your disease does not define your life, you do.
HELPFUL LINKS:
Good Bit Minute:
Studies on how pets benefit our health:
Resources for getting a service animal:
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