Contact with pets has health benefits

Let’s assume you like animals and have one or two. Perhaps canines or cats, fish or ferrets are a part of your household. (It’s hard for me to envision ferrets making a positive difference in anyone’s life, but maybe I’m underexposed.) Whatever your pet preference, research suggests regular encounters keep you healthier.

A study done last year at the State University of New York at Buffalo found that people with pets have lower heart and blood pressure rates. The University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter recently discussed the beneficial effects of pets on human health and referred to it as "pawsitive thinking." (This last one is a little too cute for my tastes, but you get the picture.)

Pet therapy is common sense supported by science. The antics of animals at play keep you lighthearted. The presence of a dog prompts the daily walk you otherwise might postpone. Having a cat means regular exposure to contented purring, with its guaranteed-to-be calming effect on your psyche. Furry critters encourage life-critical social interactions and feeding and grooming routines offer structure and purpose to a life lived alone.

But as Dr. Erica Friedman, one of the pioneers of pet-facilitated therapy, puts it, "pets are not medicine" and " although the presence of a pet has been shown to have a positive effect on heart rate and blood pressure, it’s not clear that you have to actually own the animal to get the effect."

Staying with that train of thought, there are other issues. Owning a pet can be expensive — and limiting. What do you do with your ferret when you go into the hospital for knee surgery? What do you do with an aquarium full of tropical fish when you take a four-week road trip?

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For some, owning pets can actually promote negative interactions. A neighborhood cat’s behaviors drive you crazy, and your dog’s barking drives your neighbors in the same direction. Science meets common sense, with a twist.

How about this solution? If you already own a dog, walk it regularly, letting people caress it at will. If you have neither ferret nor parrot or any four-legged pet in your life, for that matter, look for brief encounters with their accompanying therapeutic benefits. (Engage that always-in-your-garden cat and reap the psychic benefit; call your neighbor and meet the barking pooch. Bring a treat.)

Feeding (and enjoying) a traveling neighbor’s aquarium full of fish is a thoughtful, healthful thing to do. Offering to house a neighbor’s parrot for four weeks is a bit over the top, but a few days of parrot watching might be good. As for brief encounters with ferrets, I leave that up to you to decide.

For my part, I have a loving spaniel and she never barks. When I walk her, if we meet, you are welcome to pet her endlessly. Treats are optional.

Sharon Johnson is an assistant professor in family and community development at OSU Extension and a member of the Senior Advisory Council. Reach her at s.johnson@oregonstate.edu