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More than half of American adults say they're lonely. enough that the US Surgeon General declared it a public health epidemic in 2023. Not a generational problem, not a social trend or phase, an epidemic.
The same word used for COVID. Why?
For starters, because it carries the same risk as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. That's a medical comparison published by the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Surgeon General.
At the same time, we are snuffing out access to proven sources of natural emotional, physical, and cognitive benefits.
Not because they don't work, because the source needs training and support to reliably deliver [00:01:00] them.
Two crises. What if they're connected?
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Hello, hello. I'm Stacie, and this is the Human-Canine Alliance podcast. If you're new here, welcome.
The Human-Canine Alliance is the first AI-powered human-canine matchmaking platform built as a digital public health tool and designed to match people with dogs using compatibility measures such as lifestyle, personality, wellness factors, not just photos and preconceived notions.
Our goal here at the Human-Canine Alliance is to disrupt mental health and rescue with solutions that have real impact.
My last episode covered our very first pilot, and that was just a month ago. I've got a lot to catch up on since then, so [00:02:00] let's get into it.
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Here's where we stand right now.
Two rescue pilots live in North Carolina, and I have a demo scheduled with another North Carolina rescue this week.
App activity is picking up in that not only are people filling out the questionnaire, but upon viewing their matches, they're requesting to meet a dog.
Real people using compatibility-based data to lead them to a true fit companion for their life.
In a matter of months, we've gone from beta app to live pilots to our first real media coverage.
And that is super exciting, so let me tell you about it.
A few weeks ago, Sharon McBrayer, a reporter at the News Herald in Morganton, came out to our first demo [00:03:00] event, walked through a demonstration with me, and learned about the real-life intentions and impact The Human-Canine Alliance intends to have.
That ran as a top story in the Life and Entertainment section of The News Herald in Morganton this past week, and then it was shared across a network of six cities through the foothills of North Carolina, including Hickory, Statesville, Mooresville, and Winston-Salem.
And if you haven't seen it yet, I've included a link to the original story in the show notes. Go check it out!
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And with all this progress lately, I find myself needing to circle back to why this matters so much.
The numbers are real. They're astonishing, and they can feel overwhelming.
But intimidating is not the same as impossible, and we are here to prove that at The Human-Canine Alliance.
So let's talk more numbers.
A 2019 study [00:04:00] out of Sweden, building on 2017 research, found that if you live alone and have a heart attack, owning a dog drops your risk of dying by 33%.
Researchers point to two reasons why. Dog owners tend to stay more physically and socially active while a dog offers companionship on a leash.
How about this? Owning a dog decreases your odds of developing dementia by 40%, according to a 2023 study, and that number climbs to 63% lower risk if you're also getting regular exercise. There's also a number of 59% lower risk if you're not socially isolated.
This isn't a nice-to-have. This is measurable, physical, life-changing data that we are ignoring as a society. And I know what you're thinking.
Stace, okay, you've [00:05:00] got a good case here, but it costs money to own a dog. Dogs are expensive.
I know, but let's do some math here.
We are funding a $158 billion pet industry and a $5.3 trillion healthcare industry.
What are our results from that?
One out of two Americans say they're lonely.
One out of four Americans have a diagnosable mental health illness.
And we are euthanizing nearly 1,000 healthy, trainable, natural solutions to these problems every single day.
The results don't add up to me, and this is where I started digging.
You'll remember if you've been with me for a while. But I'm gonna give some highlights here.
The American consumer pet industry consists of products and services from pet care to pet nourishment, such as bathing, grooming, veterinary needs, everything in between. Think [00:06:00] about food, treats, toys, scarves, booties, you name it.
In 2025, the pet industry was a $158B industry.
Approximately 40% of that industry was sustained by adopted rescue animals.
Also in 2025, rescue organizations received about $275 million of that $158 billion industry. That is less than 0.5% going back to rescue, which again sustained 40% of their industry.
Let's put that into consumer perspective. We spend more on our pets than we spend on beer, almost one and a half times more.
We spend about four times more on our pets than we spend on gym memberships.
We spend nearly three more times on our pets than we spend on streaming video.[00:07:00]
We spend more on our pets than on candy and toys. Combined, those two industries don't even add up to half of what we spend on our dogs and cats.
And in that same industry, with those same people, if an animal isn't lucky enough to become a pet, it has a really high potential to fall into a euthanasia line.
Why is there no middle for these beloved animals in our society that only the lucky ones get to be called pets, and the rest fall between the cracks?
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And that's where it all connects.
Loneliness is a measurable physical risk factor for heart disease, for dementia, for early death.
Dogs offer a natural and effective solution to many of the causes of loneliness. They have the ability to become the missing [00:08:00] link in our wellness journeys.
While we seek the best products and services to look healthy, stay healthy, and live longer, I think we are overlooking a solution that has been here the whole time, and it's time we take another look.
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Now, I can understand that considering a dog as a wellness companion may seem a little hard to grasp for some, but consider what over 30 countries are now doing to align with exactly that.
It's called social prescribing, and it's proving real results around the world.
Social prescribing is a form of prescription allowing doctors to prescribe non-pharmaceuticals such as exercise, nature, art, dance, and other forms of fulfillment that are not typically considered a medical solution. The prescriptions are generally used for people experiencing loneliness, isolation, depression, anxiety, and other cognitive [00:09:00] impairments.
In the UK, patients referred through social prescribing have seen general practitioner appointments drop by as much as 40% and emergency room visits drop by up to 23% in some studies.
In Canada, a social prescribing pilot for older adults produced a 49% decrease in their sense of loneliness and a 42% decrease in repeat primary care visits.
We're talking one out of two people.
I have done full episodes on social prescribing before. If this is news to you, go back and listen because this is the framework we are ultimately built to plug into.
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now let me make this real with a story. Rose is 65. She lost her partner not long ago, and 65 is young enough that going out starts to feel like the third [00:10:00] wheel.
Her kids don't live nearby, so she gardens because that's still a pastime that she truly adores.
Then she decides it's time to mention the loneliness to her doctor, and instead of reacting with a prescription pad, her doctor says, "What if we found you a new companion instead?"
Rose is introduced to The Human-Canine Alliance, fills out her profile, lifestyle, home, preferences, wellness needs, and among her top matches she finds Toto, a calm, middle-aged dog with a gentle nature. But he's been returned a few times for digging.
The app has recognized that Rose and Toto have a common thread.
Rose loves to garden, and Toto is a digger.
It's also able to display this to Rose through a [00:11:00] compatibility and training report showing her that Toto could be trained to dig on cue.
Rose brings this match back to her doctor. Her doctor prescribes Toto, and plugging into the social prescribing model, insurance covers the costs.
Rose gets a companion that gives her purpose. Toto gets a home that sees his purpose.
And a so-called problem dog turns out to have been the right dog who needed to learn one skill and meet the right person.
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if you're a rescue and interested in how this could work at your facility, Please reach out for a demo.
if you're in health, wellness, or direct primary care and you're curious how this could work in your practice, I would love to talk to you.
If you're a foundation thinking about where [00:12:00] animal welfare and public health overlap, the Human-Canine Alliance is an organization you can invest in to ensure a better future for both.
And last but not least, if you simply believe in our mission and are interested in sponsoring this podcast to ensure transparent and educational growth of this foundation, please reach out to learn about sponsorship opportunities.
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Before I go, I have to ask, have you found your canine match yet on The Human-Canine Alliance app?
While we have live pilots and real adoptions happening, we are still in beta.
So please test and send your feedback. I would love to hear your experience!
Thank you so much for listening to the Human-Canine Alliance podcast. Please be sure to follow us from wherever you're listening right now, get plugged in with us on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
And also, you should be on the [00:13:00] Alliance Insider email list. It goes out every weekend. Just a quick snapshot, but it gets you updated more often than the podcast does.
Go to my website, HumanCanineAlliance.com, scroll to the bottom of the page, click Join the Pack.
In the meantime, I'm Stacie. This is The Human-Canine Alliance Podcast, and I hope you continue to listen and watch.
