Furry and Feathered Friends Are Good Medicine for People

Do you remember "The Flintstones?" Every day when Fred Flintstone came home from work, Dino, his pet dinosaur, knocked him down and slathered him in kisses. That scene never gets old because people with pets fondly recall their own pet's excitement to see them every day. "Every single patient, when I ask about his pet, instantly smiles or laughs," says Edward Creagan, MD, professor of Clinical Oncology at the Mayo Clinic Medical School, Rochester, Minn.

This bond between pets and owners has researchers praising the benefits of pets on health and well-being. Studies show that pets promote a variety of health benefits - physical and mental, as well as social. Spending just 15 to 30 minutes in the presence of a pet can reduce your anxiety and stress levels, lower your blood pressure and even help your heart. 

Your four-footed friend actually spurs chemical and hormonal reactions throughout your body when he greets you at the door or you pet him while he naps in your lap. "Interaction with pets has been found to lower cortisol levels, which rise in response to stress, and increase levels of serotonin, which regulate depression," says Rebecca Johnson, MD, director of the Center on Aging at the Sinclair School of Nursing, University of Missouri, Columbia.

Researchers also have found cardiovascular benefits and lowered blood pressure in pet owners, probably due to those and other hormonal and chemical changes. Alan Beck, MD, director for the Human-Animal Bond, School of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., examined patients who had suffered heart attacks. After one year, 94 percent of pet owners were still going strong - giving them a 22-percent advantage over those without pets.

Pet owners visit the doctor less often, too. A 1990 study found that dog owners had 21 percent fewer doctor appointments than those without pets.

"With pets, people can touch them, hold them and snuggle with them. There is something about the power of an intimate touch," says Sandra Barker, PhD, professor of psychiatry and director for Human-Animal Interaction, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Va. "What would you rather have in your lap - a heating pad or a purring cat?"