Exploring the Health Benefits of Pets
Quite simply, bringing pets into your life can not only add fun, but also a sense of companionship and well-being into your life.
While scientific studies can never fully quantify the effects of pets, they have shown that pets:
- Decrease blood pressure and heart rates better than antihypertensive medications
- Uplift moods of people depressed with life-threatening illnesses such as AIDS
- Help fight feelings of loneliness and isolation, as in nursing home patients with dog visitors.
- Encourage daily exercise and walks by adding more structure and responsibility to the owner's life.
- Add to social networks, as one becomes more approachable to others.
- If a dog lived in the home, infants were less likely to show evidence of allergies -- 19% vs. 33%. They also were less likely to have eczema, an allergic skin reaction associated with red patches and itching -- due to a more equipped immune system.
- Elderly also benefit from owning a dog, and walking it daily. A dog hardly ever walks a straight mile, but rather sniffs and turns and zig-zags, pulling the owner in all different directions, strengthening their shoulder and hip girdles.
The bottom-line is that pets can be expensive. Add in the initial purchase costs, food, pet-care, and vet bills for basic immunizations and/or emergencies. Pets are also very endearing and become hard to part with for solely financial reasons. That said, it may be wiser to test-drive pets with adoptions from the animal shelters or pet-sitting for friends. Check out the average costs on the ASPCA website: http://www.aspca.org/adoption/pet-care-costs.html
