How we treat animals says a lot about who we are and what quality of life we have. Experts are recognizing the significance of animals in the lives of people.

The Benefits of Pets

Studies have shown that pets provide a wide variety of benefits for people:

physical
emotional
social

People with pets have:

a greater sense of well-being and less anxiety.
greater ease of social interaction with strangers.
a feeling of relatedness.
more motivation to exercise and fight depression.
elderly people who have pets report greater satisfaction with life
foster children find a sense of constancy.

Studies have proven that people with pets:

blood pressure goes down when people interact with pets.
coronary heart-disease patients have higher survival rates.
physical therapy patients show improved balance, coordination, muscular strength, and language ability.
children have higher IQ scores.
preteens show increased emotional reciprocity and sense of responsibility.
children with pets demonstrate increased ability to nurture and care for others.
young children have an easier time interacting with their peers.
children exposed to two or more pets in infancy were half as likely to develop common allergies as children with no pets.
mentally impaired people and prisoners show more appropriate social behavior.