Not all dogs have the temperament to become service animals. In even the most successful training programs, less than a third of "students" qualify for careers helping the blind, deaf or disabled. The rest become companion animals in ordinary households where their service may be less visible but no less valuable.
Pets can decrease your blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. They can force you to exercise more, get outside, and laugh longer. They can help you recover from a heart attack, and they may cut your risk of having one. They can cheer up the mentally ill and reduce the need for medications.
In nursing homes, the presence of pets "is associated with the tendency of older persons to smile and talk more, reach out toward people and objects, exhibit more alertness and attention, and experience more symptoms of well-being and less depression," according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). "Pet programs have proven superior in producing psychosocial benefits in comparison to some other alternative therapies (e.g., arts and crafts programs, friendly visitor programs, and conventional psychotherapy)."
As far back as 1796, animals were used to help treat mental patients at the Retreat Hospital in York, England, "as part of an enlightened approach attempting to reduce the use of harsh drugs and restraints," the NIH notes. In the United States, one of the earliest programs using animal therapy occurred in 1919 at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C., where dogs served as companions for psychiatric patients.
The Delta Society, a not-for-profit organization created in 1977 to promote the role of animals in human health, has compiled a long list of scientific studies documenting the benefits of pets. (See its Web site at www.deltasociety.org for details.) Among the more significant findings:
• People with borderline hypertension had lower blood pressure on days they took their dogs to work. (Allen, K. 2001)
• Seniors who own dogs go to the doctor less often than those who do not. In a study of 100 Medicare patients, even the most highly stressed dog owners in the study had 21 percent fewer physician's contacts than non-dog owners. (Siegel, 1990)
• Pet owners have lower blood pressure (Friedmann, 1983; Anderson, 1992)
• Pet owners have lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels than non-owners. (Anderson, 1992)
• Pet owners have higher one-year survival rates following coronary heart disease. (Friedman, 1980, 1995)
• Medication costs 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 that had animals and plants as an integral part of the environment. (Montague, 1995)
• Children exposed to pets during the first year of life have a lower frequency of allergic rhinitis and asthma. (Hesselmar, 1999).
• Perhaps it's stating the obvious, but people who own dogs often have better physical health than non-owners for no other reason than they have to walk the dogs to keep them healthy and happy. So think of your pet as a body-fat check. As the old saying goes, "If your dog is fat, you aren't getting enough exercise."
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