Pioneering research finds training service dogs slows biological aging in women, especially veterans with combat experience. One of the most striking findings involved telomere length – a marker of cellular aging. Female veterans in a dog-training program showed increased telomere length while a control group saw declines, suggesting accelerated aging. Despite similar psychological improvements across both groups, including reduced PTSD symptoms and anxiety, only the dog-training group experienced measurable biological gains. The study reveals that emotional stress doesn’t always align with the body’s cellular stress response.
