“A doctor may heal the body, but an animal can heal the soul.”

--Hester Mundis, HeartSongs for Animal Lovers

A popular saying amongst vets is: “If you put a cat and a bunch of broken bones in the same room, the bones will heal.” One researcher wondered if purring had something to do with it. Elizabeth von Muggenthaler, a bioacoustics specialist, measured the purrs of 44 felids (members of the cat family), including cheetahs, ocelots, pumas, domestic cats, and servals. She found that all these cats generally purr in the range of 20 to 140 Hertz (Hz). The average housecat comes in at about 25-50 Hz. Scientists have known for many years that vibrations at specific levels or frequencies can induce bone growth and regeneration, increase production of a body’s natural anti-inflammatory compounds, and repair muscles, tendons and ligaments. Research has shown that exposure to frequencies at that same 20-50 Hz of the housecat’s purr induces increased bone density, relieves pain, and heals tendons and muscles. Respiratory problems associated with heart disease have also been helped by purring. And many individuals swear they can ease or completely eliminate their migraine headaches simply by lying down with a purring cat next to their head.1

Studies show that pets have a very positive impact on various aspects of our physical health,2 including:

• Increased longevity after heart attacks. The odds for survival in persons who have had a heart attack increase from 1 death in 15 to 1 in 87 for those who own a dog. Only 6% of non-pet owners survived at least one year after hospitalization for heart problems compared to 28% of persons with pets (Friedman, 1980, 1995). In addition, pets may actually lessen the risk of heart attacks.
• Lower cholesterol and triglycerides. Persons with pets have been found to have lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels when compared to people who did not have pets, even when matched for weight, diet and smoking habits (Anderson, Reid & Jennings, 1992).
• Decreased blood pressure and reducing stress. Studies of women undergoing stress tests have shown that the presence of a dog had more effect on lowering blood pressure than the presence of friends. Stockbrokers with dogs or cats in their offices had smaller increases in blood pressure during stressful tasks than those who did not have a pet present. And people with borderline hypertension had lower blood pressure on days they took their dogs to work (Allen, K. 2001).3
• Reduced medical appointments and minor health problems. Persons living at home with pets had fewer medical appointments and minor health problems (Friedmann, 1990, Serpel, 1990). In nursing homes where companion animals became part of the therapy, the use of prescription drugs and the overall cost of caring for patients dropped. [In new nursing home facilities in New York, Missouri, and Texas that had animals and plants as an integral part of the environment, medication costs dropped from an average of $3.80 per patient per day to just $1.18 per patient per day (Montague, 1995).4]
• Predicting seizures. Some people who have periodic seizures reported that their dogs could sense the onset of a seizure before they could. “Seizure-alert” or “seizure-response” dogs can be specially trained to signal their owners 15-45 minutes prior to a seizure, giving the owner time to prepare.
• Controlling “freezing” in Parkinson’s Disease. “Freezing” is a problem for Parkinson patients, when their feet freeze in place while the rest of their body keeps moving, causing the person to fall. Parkinson’s helper dogs are trained to identify when a person is “freezing.” If the dog touches the person’s foot, it breaks the freeze and the person can continue walking. No one knows how
• or why this works. The dogs are also taught to counterbalance and help their humans to regain their footing. If the person falls, the dog can help the person up.
• Diagnosing cancer. In the “stranger than fiction” category, a dog in Florida, named George, has been reported to be able to detect a particular smell given off by certain skin tumors (malignant melanomas) with close to 100% accuracy.
• Increased physical activity and functioning. People with pets often have better physical health due to the need to exercise and care for their pets.

If your dog is fat, you aren’t getting enough exercise.

--Unknown

For those with conditions such as Alzheimer’s Disease and AIDS, one of the most important and endearing qualities of pets is that they provide consistent companionship and they are always ready to give and accept affection. These people often receive less touch from caregivers than do people with other conditions. Pets provide a special kind of emotional support to people regardless of the severity of their illness. Animals help them feel loved and needed, and consequently enhance a person’s ability to deal with the life changes that accompany devastating illnesses that have no known cure. Companion animals help health care providers maintain as high a quality of life as possible and address emotional and social needs of their patients.5

Emotionally, psychologically, and socially, animals help us to6:

• Adjust to serious illness and death. Children often turn to their pet, especially dogs, for comfort when a friend or family member dies or leaves the family (Raveis, 1993). Adults who did not have a close source of human support when they were grieving were found to have less depression if they had a pet.
• Have consistency. Caring for a pet can significantly affect our routine and gives us something to do and look forward to each day. People may come and go, but our pets are with us day in and day out.
• Have more and better social interactions. Surveys have shown that 70% of families surveyed reported feeling happier after adding a pet to the family (Cain, 1985). Residents in a Veteran’s Hospital had more verbal interactions with each other when a dog was present in the room. Dogs were also shown to increase socialization among persons with Alzheimer’s disease in a nursing home. Residents in long-term care facilities were more likely to attend activity sessions when an animal was going to be present.
• Have physical contact. More and more studies show how important it is to our physical and emotional health to have something to touch and pet.

Some studies have shown that the mere act of stroking a cat for several minutes helps to release “feel good” endorphins in the brain, producing a feeling of tranquility in pet guardians.7

w You can’t look at a sleeping cat and be tense.

--Jane Pauley, American journalist

Karen Allen, a social psychologist, stated in her presentation to the American Heart Association that pets are very effective in helping us maintain positive health and well-being. Studies conducted “indicate that they offer a non-judgmental presence that influences how owners see difficult events: To have something in your life that’s totally on your side has a powerful effect. Somehow their presence changes your perception of what’s going on from a threat to a challenge.” As scientists are quickly learning, unconditional love is a very powerful thing. Allen adds, “Powerful enough to rival the effectiveness of some drugs prescribed to us by our doctor. Consider adopting a pet – he or she may be the only medicine you ever really need again.” 8

According to a study by Richard Avanzino, a pet can help ground psychiatric patients, even those with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Avanzino served as president of the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which conducted 65 visits by animals to a locked psychiatric unit of San Francisco General Hospital over a three-year period (1984-1987). More than 45% of the patients showed improved socialization, more than 43% increased their communication, and 33% became more oriented toward reality after the visits from the shelter dogs, cats, and other small animals.9

x There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.

--Ben Williams

Even passive observation of animals has been shown to reduce stress. Spending no more than ten minutes watching tropical fish swimming in an aquarium proved as effective as hypnosis in reducing the anxiety and discomfort of adult patients about to undergo dental surgery.10

Bruce Headey, an associate professor from the University of Melbourne, and Warwick Anderson, a professor at the Baker Medical Research Institute, were inspired by the Australian National People & Pets Survey 1994 that showed that dog and cat owners make fewer doctor visits and appear to be in better health than non-pet owners. They reasoned that the presence of pets therefore entailed savings in health expenditure and posed a classic economic “what if?” question: How much money is saved in human health care costs by owning pets? Considering that eight percent of the GDP [Gross Domestic Product] of Australia, over $30 billion, is spent on health care, their calculations indicated that the presence of pets could save between $790 million and $1.5 billion annually, depending on whether only the pet guardian or other family members were taken into account. Although much further research is needed in this area, what was clear is that the link between pet ownership and better health may have profound implications for health policy and practice.11

Your pet always has that way of making you smile and laugh.

--Glamour magazine

Footnotes:

1  Lev G. Fedyniak, MD, health and medical writer, Animal Wellness, Vol. 5, Issue 6. DrLev@IntegrativeMedicineOnline.com

2  Holly R. Frisby, DVM, “Physical and Medical Health Benefits of Pets,” 2000, PetEducation.com.

3  “Healthy Reasons to have a Pet,” Delta Society, www.deltasociety.org.

4  Eileen Mitchell, “Just what the doctor ordered,” San Francisco Chronicle E12, Sept. 20, 2003.

5  Karen Allen, Ph.D. “Coping with Life Changes & Transitions: The Role of Pets & Recent Studies on How the Presence of Pets Affects People During Life Transitions,” InterActions, Vol. 13, No. 3, 1995, in Health Benefits of Animals, (Renton, WA.: Delta Society).

6  Holly R. Frisby, DVM, MS, Veterinary Services Dept., Drs. Foster & Smith, Inc. “Psychological-Emotional & Social Benefits,” Nov. 11, 2003, PetEducation.com.

7 Fox Valley Humane Association, Appleton, WI,

8  “Pets as a Benefit to Our Health,”

9  Clea Simon, The Feline Mystique, St. Martin’s Press, 2002, p. 221.

10  Clea Simon, The Feline Mystique, St. Martin’s Press, 2002, p. 4.

11  Bruce Headey and Warwick Anderson, “Health Cost Savings: The Impact of Pets on Australian Health Budgets,” Nov. 1995, Baker Medical Research Institute and the Centre for Public Policy at the University of Melbourne. Read this study