Animal House: The Benefits of Pet Loving

It's a lifestyle, being an animal lover. Did you know that people who have pets tend to live longer than people who don’t? According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 1920 the average life expectancy was 54. Today, people can expect to live to 78. Obvious speculations might include a better food supply, medical care, hygiene or any number of other factors. It's not totally clear to scientists how they all add up. But what we do know is that studies are finding modern technology doesn't tell us the whole story when it comes to why we are living healthier, longer lives.


In place of strong genetics, impeccable healthcare, and a healthy diet, studies have found the secret to living longer is simple. If you really want to live longer, then start with your attitude. Your way of thinking not only improves your outlook on life, but also how long you actually live. In 2002, researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., found that optimistic people decreased their risk of early death by 50 percent compared with those who leaned more toward pessimism. A part of the crutch of this optimism is pet ownership. When we're wrapped up in the cares of life, our pets can remind us of the importance of simplicity.


Animal lovers will be happy to know that having a pet can add years to your life, as well. One of the first studies in this arena, which appeared in Public Health Reports in 1980, showed that the survival rates of heart-attack victims who had a pet were 28% higher than those of patients who didn't have an animal companion. "The health effects seem to be very real and by no means mystical," says Alan Beck, director of the Center for the Human-Animal Bond at Purdue University. "Contact with companion animals triggers a relaxation response," he says.

Nursing homes in New York, Missouri, and Texas that included animals in their environment, noticed that medication costs dropped from $3.80 per patient per day to only $1.18. In addition, the Eden Alternative residential home for elderly which provides an environment with birds, dogs, cats, rabbits, and chickens reported a 15 percent lower mortality rate in a 5 year period.


Rebecca Johnson, a professor of gerontological nursing at the University of Missouri, Columbia, showed that interaction with pets does, in fact, reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol. The ability of companion pets to reduce our overall stress level probably accounts for most of their life-extending qualities. A recent study at the State University of New York at Buffalo found that pets even help lower blood pressure. People with hypertension who adopted a cat or dog had lower blood pressure readings in stressful situations than did those who did not own a pet.

"For many people, pets also provide a reason to get moving," adds Johnson. How many people, after all, would actually get any exercise if it weren't for overenthusiastic dogs? I know when I'm at home in America, I can see my dog Duncan's eyes pleaing to me for a good run. It's like I can read his mind.
Animals experience life in much the same way that you and I do. They burp, sneeze, hiccup, dream, feel joy and happiness, fear and pain. When Duncan has nightmares and cries in his sleep, we let him sleep it off. When my new kittens, Yume (you may) and Rokube (Roku bay) situate themselves ever so perfectly in my lap, I know they are comfortable in their new surrounding. Our pets have a fascinating capacity for love and loyalty. At the same time, pets will wither in neglect and abuse.

So in 2006 as 63 percent of Americans are projected to spend $38.4 billion dollars on the 37.7 million cats and 43.5 million dogs that inhabit our homes and touch our lives, remember to give your pet an extra treat for enriching your life with health and longevity.



(Special thanks to Duncan the dog, Yume the orange cat, and Rokube the blackish cat .... Want to find out what kind of dog you are?? go to what kind of dog I am and click "activities")