Pet Life
 

Pet your pets and live longer lives - have a stroke or two today!

Your dumb companion is not as dumb as they might seem. Having a pet around can help you live a longer, happier life.

A pet prolongs your life is now an almost universally accepted medical fact - so much so that 'Pet therapy' is growing in popularity as a viable medical treatment. Pets furnish their owners with loyalty and unconditional love. Caring for an animal imparts a feeling of belonging and offers several opportunities for amusement and play between the human and the pet. Such a relationship does not come with the responsibilities and threats that characterize human relationships. Many animal lovers believe that the emotional benefits of caring for a pet has no equal.

According to physiological tests, petting and stroking animals improves general health, lowers blood pressure reduces anxiety and significantly reduces stress levels in the human doing the petting. This is a direct indication of cardiovascular health. Statistics back this statement. A good example is the fact that heart attack patients with pets live longer than those without. In addition to this, owning a pet decreases deaths from heart attack by 3% - translating to 30,000 lives annually.

If your heart is healthy, a healthy mind and healthy body soon follow. There is an ongoing debate on a certain postulation that pets, particularly dogs, can sense when their owner is about to have a heart attack. This allows the owner ample time to get to the closest health facility or get to the medicine cabinet. Reading Joslin's manual, various facts become known with respect to diabetes. Dogs helped discover insulin, the hormone responsible for the regulation of blood sugar.

Medical tests show that pet owners record lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels than similarly-built non-owners. Moreover, pet owners contract fewer health problems. The companionship of a pet, especially dogs, facilitates children's adjustment to serious illnesses and the eventual death of close relatives. With the current problem caused by child inactivity and subsequent obesity, pets play a vital role. Kids who own pets get involved in wholesome activities like sports, clubs, and hobbies and in some cases, household chores. It is also interesting to note that if a child is in the presence of their pet dog during a physical examination, stress levels reduce significantly, leading to more accurate results.

High self-esteem is also important for children, especially those with reservations about their appearance, physical condition or medical condition. Children are, sadly, naturally cruel to their peers and are always on the watch for the 'odd-man-out' in any group. Pets are not interested in how you appear to other humans, they only care how you treat them and will reward you ten-fold or more for your kind attentions. If you have formed such a caring relationship with a pet, it is rare to feel the extremes of loneliness even if you do otherwise lead a solitary life. This positive outlook definitely leads to less stress, and longer life.

In conclusion, any pet has the potential to be a wonder-drug although some pets lend themselves to it better than others, it must be said. Giving your pet a quick cuddle or simply by watching it be itself, is very calming and wholly absorbing. Even if the pet is for a terminally ill or severely disabled person who cannot cope with the demands of a puppy or cat, a fish tank, hamster or budgerigar can still prove extremely beneficial and certainly induce a feeling of tranquillity and well-being into the patient.

Pets really can extend your life. If you do not already have a pet, think which one would best suit your life and see how you, too, can live longer with a pet.

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Pet - Live Longer With One