Man’s best (research) friend
The close relationship humans share with dogs makes our canine companions valuable sentinels to monitor the effects of chemicals on human health.
From a research perspective, in addition to sharing the same environment and chemical exposures as humans, dogs respond to toxic exposures in similar ways as humans. Dogs age seven or more times faster than humans. Their shorter lifespans and compressed latency periods for developing disease make them ideal research subjects from a physiological perspective. And while dogs share many of the same diseases as humans, they don’t indulge in lifestyle behaviours such as smoking and drinking alcohol, which can affect study results.
Dogs stand in for kids
Like our pets, children are more sensitive to chemicals than adults. As children grow and their organ systems develop, the ingestion of chemicals can interfere with normal development. When children ingest chemicals, in food, for example, they take in a proportionally larger amount of chemicals than adults, due to children’s lower body weight.
And children share other characteristics with our canine companions. Both crawl around and play on grass and floors. Children put their fingers in their mouths, while dogs lick their paws and the ground, ingesting chemicals in household dust.
