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THE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE OF OUR PETS

Jun 25, 2011, 5:49 p.m.

If your family includes a dog or cat, you know first hand that pets provide us with unconditional love and companionship… but did you know there’s evidence that owning a pet is also good for your health?

A study by the US Department of Health has concluded that pets have increased the survival rate of heart attack victims. The study revealed that 28 percent of heart patients who owned pets survived serious heart attacks, compared to only six percent of heart patients without pets.

And another study revealed that the cholesterol levels of pet owners were two percent lower than those of people without a companion animal. Sharing your life with a pet can also reduce your blood pressure. A survey of one thousand Medicare patients showed that 40 percent of the elderly sought the services of a doctor much less frequently when they owned a pet, and nursing homes have reported that after establishing animal therapy programs they see a significant reduction in the use of prescription drugs by patients.

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