Pretty much everyone I know has or had some type of pet in their life, even if it was a fish that died within a couple of days. Whenever I see my dog it increases my happiness and puts me in a good mood for the rest of the day. Not only do pets make people happy, they are scientifically proven increase health by keeping them in the home or having them around.

According to an article from the Harvard Medical School , having animals around such as cats or dogs provokes a calming feeling in humans. These animals are so attached to their owners and their loyalty makes us feel more calm which then reduces blood pressure, cholesterol, and stress. Other health benefits provided by Harvard include the point of how certain pets force owners to exercise. Some dogs need to be walked daily, so the owner gets exercise in by walking their pet.

A study done at the Virginia Commonwealth University decided to test if there was a difference between people who took their dog to work, people who had a dog and did not bring it to work, and people who did not have a dog at all. With 550 people working at the company, around 30 dogs would come to the company during the day. They were testing the different stress levels, and did this by taking a sample of the saliva. At the beginning of the day the different groups of people did not test much different for their stress levels. But throughout the day the researchers found that the group of people who brought their dogs to work had their levels of stress decrease significantly. Workers who did not have dogs’ level of stress went up during the course of the day. Surprisingly, the group of people who had dogs but left them at home showed the biggest increase of stress. Overall, the pets in the office caused the amount of work to go up and many people were found to be enjoying their days in the office. This study proved again what Harvard described about how pets can decrease stress which then leads to health benefits.

As a dog lover as well as dog owner, I am happy to hear that not only is my pet making me happy, he is helping my heart.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120330081235.htm

http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-health-benefits-and-risks-of-pet-ownership