Healthy
Reasons to Have a Pet
by Sally Sizer
For more
information or to share you pet’s love with
others as a Delta Partners therapy team, call
Sally Sizer at (860) 399-5634 or email her
at
Cinderbin@snet.net or visit the Delta
website at
www.deltasociety.org
- Seniors
who own dogs go to the doctor less than those
who do not. In a study of 100 Medicare patients,
even the most highly stressed dog owners had 21%
fewer physician contacts than non-dog owners.
(Siegel, 1990)
- Seniors
who owned pets coped better with stress life
events without entering the healthcare system.
(Raina, 1998)
- Pet owners
have lower blood pressure. (Friedman, 1993,
Anderson 1992)
- Pet owners
have lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels
than non-owners. (Anderson, 1992)
- ACE inhibitors
lower resting blood pressure but they do not
diminish reactivity to mental stress. Pet
ownership can lesson cardiovascular reactivity
to psychological stress among hypertensive
patients treated with a daily dose of Lisinopril.
(Allen, 1999)
- Companionship
of pets (particularly dogs) helps children in
families adjust better to the serious illness
and death of a parent . (Raveis, 1993)
- Pet owners
feel less afraid of being a victim of crime when
walking with a dog or sharing a residence with a
dog. (Serpel, 1990)
- Pet owners
have fewer minor health problems. (Friedman,
1990, Serpel, 1990)
- Pet owners
have better psychological well being. (Serpel,
1990)
- Contact
with pets develops nurturing behavior in
children who may grow to be more nurturing
adults. (Melson, 1990)
- Medication
costs have dropped from an average of $3.80 per
patient per day to just $1.18 per patient per
day in new nursing home facilities in New York,
Missouri and Texas having animals and plants as
an integral part of the environment
(Montague, 1995)
- Pets
fulfill many of the same support functions as
humans for adults and children. (Melson,
1998)
- Pets
in nursing homes increase social and verbal
interactions. (Fick, 1992)
- Having
a pet may decrease heart attack mortality by 3%.
This translates into 30,000 lives saved
annually. (Friedman, 1980)
- Pet
owners have better physical health due to
exercise with their pets (Serpel, 1990)
- Dogs
are preventative and therapeutic measures
against everyday stress. (Allen, 1991, 1996)
- Pets
decrease feelings of loneliness and isolation.
(Kidd, 1994)
- Children
exposed to humane education
programs display enhanced empathy for humans
compared with children not exposed to such
programs. (Ascione, 1992)
- The ADL
level of seniors who did not currently own pets
deteriorated more on average than that of
respondents who currently owned pets. (Raina,
1999)
- Owning
a pet enhances positive
self-esteem of children. (Bergensen, 1989)
- Owning
a pet can enhance children’s
cognitive development. (Poresky, 1988)
- 70%
of families surveyed reported an increase in
family happiness and fun after getting a pet
. (Cain, 1985)
- The
presence of a dog during a child’s physical
examination decreases the child’s stress. (Nadgengast,
1997, Baun, 1998)
Peaceful Paws AAT
Sally Sizer, President
179 Malabar Drive
Westbrook, CT 06498
860-399-5634
cinderbin@snet.net
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