The Healing Power of Pets

Xanax helps lessen acute anxiety. Zoloft helps ward off depression. Chemo helps fight cancer. Wheelchairs aide the disabled, much like braille helps the blind. But what if I told you pets had healing powers too? It may sound a little unconventional, but what is normal anymore anyhow?

Dog have long proven their usefulness in the world: learning to see for the blind, hearing for the deaf and walking for the immobile, but what about their ability to help ward of or lessen illness?

According to an article written by the New York Times, Over the years, data on the larger role dogs play in health has trickled out from various corners of the world. One Japanese study found pet owners made 30 percent fewer visits to doctors. A Melbourne study of 6,000 people showed that owners of dogs and other pets had lower cholesterol, blood pressure and heart attack risk compared with people who didn’t have pets. Obviously, the better health of pet owners could be explained by a variety of factors, but many experts believe companion animals improve health at least in part by lowering stress.

More notably, the article continues on to say, Dogs, in particular, also have been shown to do remarkable things to improve the health of their owners. There are stories of dogs warning their owners of imminent health threats. In 2003, University of Florida researchers published a report in the journal Seizure noting that some dogs seem to have an innate ability to detect impending seizures. A 2000 report in the British Medical Journal examined case studies of dogs alerting people with diabetes of a coming hypoglycemic episode.

As an avid dog lover myself, it is easy for me to believe in the ability of our four-legged friends! While I may be biased, I have also been exposed first-hand to the love and nurturing dogs bring into your life. When I am feeling down in the dumps after a long day at work, nothing turns my frown upside down better than a kiss and snuggle from my Maddie girl (well, and my husband too, of course)!

Now don't get me wrong, modern medicine is certainly useful - and very necessary in lots of cases. But maybe we have come to rely a little too much on the "quick fixes" medications and prescriptions provide, rather than looking to life's small (& furry) miracles for a cure.

Sometimes life's simply pleasures offer the greatest rewards. Tonight, I challenge all of you to spend an extra few minutes snuggling your own "Maddie." Now, I'm no doctor, but I'm willing to bet your temperament will see a vast improvement! :)

For the love of our furry friends,
M.J.