As If we didn't know. Studies say Pets are good for the heart!

They say that owning a pet is 'probably' associated with a decreased risk of heart disease and may also be associated with other benifits, some being: lower blood pressure, cholesterol levels and a lower rate of obesity. We knew pet's helped our mental health, now we know they help our physical too.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/the-upbeat/a...39249.html

It is obviously true, as many studies have previously shown that pets are good for your health. This is not just because physical activity is increased when you have a dog to exercise, and you take regular walks with your dog. Some studies have also shown that mental health and wellbeing are improved by having pets around. Just stroking a pet can reduce stress levels and pets provide company for people who live alone. This is also a benefit for the heart, because too much stress can lead to heart trouble.

Yes, owning pets bring a lot of health benefits to the pet owner. We have discussed many of them in one of our articles.

Check it out for more details.
Article: Why People Have Pets.

My pets not only drain my stress away at the end of the day but they also help keep me healthy. My dogs force me to walk them once a day for around 45 minutes. This means it does not matter if I feel like exercising I will have to walk them and in turn I get my daily exercise. It is also our bonding time.

I totally agree. The oldest person in my neighborhood, Madame Cheignon is 92 and still regularly goes out walking her two (also quite elderly) Yorkshire terriers. I certainly think this is what keeps her going. She told me that if she passes on, who will take care of her poor little dogs?
Plus the daily exercise certainly does a lot of good for her health as well.

I absolutely agree that pets are important for not only our heart health, but also for our emotional health. Now that I am a senior citizen, and none of my children are close to where I live, my little dogs are my family, and I call Chipper my Furry Kid. He is always right beside me, and usually laying on his little pillow , right on my lap. I think he understands about everything I say, and most of what I am thinking, too !
When I am having a bad heart day, the dogs are always right beside me if I am resting, and I am pretty sure that they know I am not feeling well that day.
Some dogs are trained and licensed to visit patients on hospitals and nursing homes, and they bring great joy to the people they visit. One of Chippers sons , Mr. Fletcher, is such a dog, and he goes with his owner to visit nursing homes, and even has a little wagon that he rides in at the local parades !

I take out Tiny even if I don't want to and even when she thinks she doesn't want to.

Most of the time it's because she doesn't want to but if make her go across the street she knows she has to walk and I take her to the park. I let her run all over the place once we get there as I walk along. She ends up enjoying herself and hates going home when I say let's go.

I believe the reason we see health benefits coming out of having pets is because they improve our mental health. A healthy mind is directly proportional to a healthy body.

I have two tiny squirrels that have grown up with us in our house. Seeing them run about can make even the worst of days appear less bleak. It's heart warming to see them trust us and love us so unconditionally. I love how one of them will come and snuggle his head under my palms demanding to be petted! It's too cute! And he will absolutely not eat unless it's from one of our plates!

Running after them during "medicine time" also gives me good exercise. Haha. They are a blessing, brings a smile to each of our lips at the end of the day. Their odd gestures and quirky behavior makes up for all the bad stuff of the day. I can see why having pets make me people healthier. They act as de-stressors!

I can't remember the article I read but it mentioned that senior citizens who kept pets lived longer and had better health compared with those who didn't. I am not surprised. The joy of caring and nurturing animals gives them a reason to live; one woman even said "But who's going to take care of my dogs?", when asked if her pets were the ones that kept her going !

I definitely feel much calmer when I pat my dog or watch my fish feed. It's almost Zen-like.

Until they pass away

I still haven't really gotten over my three dogs passing away back in 2009 all within a couple months of each other.

Our cats now keep us company, but they've never really filled the hole left by our dogs. Occasionally we will watch some of our other friend's dogs for them while they are on vacation, and it brings back a lot of memories instantly of what it was like having our dogs around.

My little Yorkies definitely bring a lot of joy and happiness to my life. I couldn't imagine not having them and can't really remember life without them before! It couldn't have been this happy! They are so loving and sweet! They are my little shadows and follow me everywhere! They are great company. When I am sick or having a bad day, they can cheer me right up!

I was glad that I found my way into lives of animals, as an adult. I was not allowed to have animals growing up. I respect all life and my cats are there for me.

Having animals who love you uncontionally, relieves stress and depression. Then it gets better when you pay that love forwards to them. :-) <3 <3. When the mental stress is taken care of, physically you get better too. When you pet an animal, your blood pressure goes down. That's an known fact.

I can see how a dog can help lower the rate of obesity. When lived in an apartment, I would walk my two dogs twice a day. Often, I did not want to walk because the weather was either too hot, or too cold. Well, another truth is that I was just too lazy to walk, but I needed to because my dogs needed to go to the bathroom and they needed exercise. Well, guess what happened? I ended up losing weight and I gained energy. I also met my future best friend while walking my dogs. He ended up helping me by walking my dogs with me every night, and we found that we had common interests. He is still my best friend today, and he still takes walks with me with my dogs when he visits me at the house I live in now.