You Could Get Paid to Look at Pictures of Puppies

A UK-based raw dog food company called ProDog Raw recently asked 1402 people what type of image they’d rather come across on social media: someone’s selfie, or a photo of a cat or dog. Nearly three-fourths of all participants chose pet pictures, leading the researchers to think there might be some unconscious positive reaction associated with staring at a cute cat or dog for a moment.

To test that hypothesis, ProDog Raw is enlisting 10 people to strap on heart rate monitors and look at puppy pictures at regular intervals throughout the day. As PennLive.com reports, participants must be people between 18 and 60 years old who use social media, have internet access, and mainly work at a desk. And since the study is tracking changes in heart rate, people with existing medical conditions that affect their heart rate—like an arrhythmia or high blood pressure—should sit this study out (though a heart condition definitely shouldn’t stop you from poring over puppy pictures on your own).

The company will mail you a chest heart rate monitor to don for the day, and your stats will feed into an app that you can use to send your data straight to the researchers. They’ll pass it along to a doctor who will help them look for patterns and draw conclusions about the effects of the puppy pictures. All you have to do is set an alarm to sound off hourly for a total of six consecutive hours. When it does, you drop what you’re doing and stare at an image of a dog.

Though plenty of people would probably agree to do this gig for free, participants won’t have to. ProDog Raw will pay its 10 lucky chosen ones nearly $28 an hour (about $167 for the whole day). The application is only open until Friday, April 30, so don’t hesitate to apply here.

[h/t PennLive.com]