Caring for a pet makes you happier, healthier

By Lionel Wijesiri

Has anybody told you that pets can help humans heal emotionally, physically and mentally? Yes, it is a scientifically proven fact. While most pet owners are clear about the immediate joys that come with sharing their lives with companion animals, many remain unaware of the physical and mental health benefits that can also accompany the pleasure of playing with or snuggling up to an animal friend. It’s only recently that studies have begun to scientifically explore the benefits of the human-pet bond.

Scientists are also discovering that pets, especially dogs, can help fight disease and assist us in coping with chronic conditions. These pets can have a biochemical impact on their owners’ body chemistry. Numerous medical experts have provided the results of scientific studies that support this biological basis for what we’ve felt intuitively.

The average domestic pet - even a goldfish or rabbit - can also provide us with many therapeutic benefits. Pets can ease loneliness, reduce stress, promote social interaction, encourage exercise and playfulness, and provide us with unconditional love and affection.

While some studies have found a stronger connection than others, having a pet has the potential to lower blood pressure, especially in hypertensive or high-risk patients, according to Marty Becker, DVM, and veterinary consultant. “If you have a dog around, your blood pressure is lower,” he says. “A lot of it goes back to reducing stress: You might lose your job, your house, your wealth, but you’ll never lose the unconditional love of your pet.”

Dr. Becker knows what he is talking about. Veterinary Economics Practice Leadership Editor and eminent speaker, he is the author of The Healing Power of Pets: Harnessing the Amazing Ability of Pets to Make and Keep People Happy and Healthy and the resident veterinarian for Good Morning America. As a veterinarian, media personality, author, lecturer, educator, contributor, and recipient of many prestigious awards, Dr. Becker has become known as the best-loved family doctor for pets.

His conclusions are based on decades-long experiments he has conducted. In his books and his video presentations, he lists a number of benefits accumulated by the pet lovers.

* Relieves pain

Believe it or not, pets can be the best medicine, especially when a person is dealing with chronic pain such as migraines or arthritis. Just like Valium, it reduces anxiety. The less anxiety, the less pain. One study has found that people who use pet therapy while recovering from surgery may need significantly less pain medication than those who do not.

* Lowers cholesterol

Another heart-healthy result of owning a pet is lower cholesterol. People who own pets (men in particular) have significantly lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels than those who don’t have pets. However, it isn’t clear whether the pet’s presence decreases cholesterol, or if those who maintain a healthier lifestyle are more often pet owners.

* Improves mood

A lot of the health benefits of owning a pet may stem from mental and emotional benefits. People who have pets are less harried; there’s more laughter in their life. When you come home, you’re like Nicholas Cage. You’re a star! This is a primary reason pets are used in various forms of therapy.

For example, at most army medical centres in USA, dogs are used to help soldiers dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. They have found that men who have pets can re-enter society more easily. Such men show a decreased rate of suicide, one of the biggest health threats veterans face.

* Prevents strokes

Although dogs are often touted for their health benefits, cat owners can see gains too. Felines are just as beneficial to human health as dogs. If you have a cat, you’re 30 percent less likely to have a heart attack, and 40 percent less likely to have a cardiovascular incident such as a stroke. In addition, pets can aid in the recovery of a heart attack. If you have a heart attack and you have a dog, you are significantly more likely to be alive a year later.

* Prevents allergies and improves immunity

It seems that pets can dramatically improve immunity and prevent allergies. A study found that children aged between five and seven from pet-owning households attend school three weeks more per year than those who don’t have pets. Children who grow up on farms and around animals don’t have allergies. That dander or that hair is natural immunotherapy.

Seniors and children

Pet owners over the age of 65 make 30 percent fewer visits to their doctors than those without pets. A pet doesn’t have to be a dog or a cat. Even watching fish in an aquarium can help reduce muscle tension and pulse rate.

At this age, people lose things that previously occupied their time and gave their life purpose. They may have retired from their careers or their children may have moved far away. Caring for a pet can bring pleasure and help boost their morale and optimism. Taking care of an animal can also provide a sense of self-worth.

At the other end, children who grow up with pets have less risk of allergies and asthma. Many also learn responsibility, compassion, and empathy from having pets. Unlike parents, pets are never critical and don’t give orders. They are always loving and their mere presence at home can help provide a sense of security in children.

Having an ever-present dog or cat, for example, can help ease separation anxiety in children when their mother and father aren’t around. Studies have also shown that pets can help calm hyperactive or overly aggressive children. Of course, both the pet and the child need to be trained to behave appropriately with each other.

One of the reasons for these therapeutic effects is that most pets fulfil the basic human need to touch. Experiments have shown that even hardened criminals in prison have shown long-term changes in their behaviour after interacting with pets, many of them experiencing mutual affection for the first time.

Experience

Talking about pet care, a friend related to me recently one of his own experiences. His wife was in her mid-50s and had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. She was extremely reticent when asked to join in social activities and often seemed to be searching for someone or something. An immediate transformation occurred when she was introduced to a pet dog. It seemed as if she found exactly what she had been searching for during her frequent walks up and down the garden.

She eagerly agreed to be of assistance when my friend asked her to help him keep his two fish tanks tidy and feed the fish before walking the dog in the garden each morning and evening. She no longer looked sad and withdrawn because she again had meaning and purpose in her life as well as a sense of structure to her day.

As a result of this intervention, my friend felt much better about his decision to bring a dog. He said that he was very pleased to see her self-confidence re-emerging and felt that both dog and fish were instrumental in bringing her back to almost normalcy.

The moral of the story is – go for a pet. In the long term, it will be one of your best investments. If you do have a pet, take good care of him or her because you are already reaping the harvest.