Being a health writer, I’m always hearing about the latest in nutrition, exercise, disease prevention, what have you. And I often take the info I’ve learned and try to infuse it into my family’s life as well. However, recently I took a step to greatly improve my family’s health, and I had no idea I was doing so at the time. You see, just a few months ago, my husband and I finally decided to add a dog to our family. We had both grown up with dogs, and we wanted to care for one on our own.

I had always heard that dogs can improve their owner’s health. I’ve read the studies, heard the anecdotes, seen the segments on Oprah. But I really had no idea how much this little cotton ball could offer my family and me. At a glance, Baxter is seemingly self-centered. Sure, he’s beyond cute and sweet as can be, but if I could read his thoughts they’d probably be something like, “Hey, can I have a treat. Hello up there, please drop some of those cookie crumbs on the floor. I just went potty where I’m supposed to. Where the heck is my liver-flavored reward!”

But Baxter has a little secret, and he’s been dropping hints all throughout my house (not those kind of hints). My husband, a 6 ft. 4″ businessman comes home after a stressful day at work, tired as can be. And I often hear him giggling (yes, Larry, giggling) at the front door because Baxter goes bounding toward him, showering him with kisses, literally licking every inch of his face. Or my daughter starts sobbing because she stubbed her toe, got into a fight with her little brother over or, most likely, got into a “time out” because of said fight. And there’s Baxter, staring up at her intently, licking away her tears until she has no more. Or I’ll be home all day, sitting at my kitchen table, working incessantly on my laptop. And when it’s time for a five-minute break, Baxter immediately snaps out of his coma-nap, runs to my side, and either flops over for a belly rub or entices me into chasing him around the house.

You see, Baxter’s little secret is that his very nature, his constant need for attention and companionship has had an incredible effect on my family. He calms us when we’re stressed, cheers us up when we’re sad, keeps us company when we’re lonely. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s so ridiculously cute and likes to lie on his back and bat his polar bear-like paws at us until you can’t help but smile. Maybe it’s the fact that dogs are innately loving creatures who can bring out emotions in us that other humans can’t. Whatever it is, I know that I speak for my husband and my children when I say that Baxter makes us laugh, love, and smile every single day. And if that doesn’t translate to a healthier lifestyle, I don’t know what does.