How pets benefits our lives.

Any Pet-lover who has ever shared his/her life with an animal companion will tell you that there are many benefits to pet ownership. In today’s stressful lifestyles, one has to find relaxation and peace wherever you can. No one can deny that pets provide mountains of unconditional love without any expectations in return. [Scientists have proven that pets can be the “medicinal relief” we need for many different ailments.] There have been numerous articles outlining how the interaction with pets can lower blood pressure, ease anxiety, assist in special needs education and bring love and companionship to a multitude of elderly patients and terminally ill children.

In several of her lectures, Dr. Robin Downing from Avon, Colorado has discussed a case depicting an 83-year-old woman she calls “Daisy” who adopted a pet companion at the advice of her cardiologist. Daisy opted to adopt a 10-year-old abandoned poodle she lovingly named “Curly.” She wanted to give back to her community and rescue a pet from a shelter instead of purchasing a pet from a store or puppy farm. After 6 months, Daisy’s condition had improved so drastically that her cardiologist had to meet Curly, the wonder dog. Daisy presented Curly as though she were her own daughter, but began to express a concern for Curly’s health. She wondered what she could do to ensure Curly lived a long healthy senior life. The cardiologist took her concerns to heart and became so involved in pet therapy care that he collaborated with Dr. Downing, Curly’s vet, to guarantee this pet and all other elderly companion pets got all the medical services they needed in order to remain with their owners as long as possible. He realized that Curly had given Daisy a reason to live, someone for whom she could be responsible, of whom she could take care, and most importantly, for whom to be healthy.

Daisy’s doctor acknowledged that many patients could benefit from pet ownership. Through a longitudinal study, medical advisors have realized that the [mortality rate of heart-attack victims is one-third of that of non-pet owners.] There is a significant reduction of levels of known risk factors for cardiovascular disease (e.g., lower blood pressure and pulse rate). Female pet owners, in the stress years between 40 and 60 years, have lower systolic blood pressure and lower plasma triglyceride levels. Moreover, male pet owners in the same age group have lower triglycerides and plasma cholesterol as well as lower systolic blood pressure. On the average, scientists discovered that patients had infrequent headaches and bouts of indigestion, showed less signs of depression and participated in more socially active lifestyles resulting in 21 percent fewer visits to the doctor.