Canyon Ranch (Massachusetts)
They're beautiful, lovable, entertaining, and always happy to see us. They're our least demanding friends and biggest admirers. We fascinate them and they amuse us. They're our dogs, and what would we do without them?
More than 60 percent of American households include pets, and, as most pet owners instinctively know, animal companions offer more than just company: They also help reduce stress. In hectic times and through everyday challenges, they provide affection, diversion and a calming link to the reality of the moment.
The physical perks of having pets are well documented, from improved blood pressure to reduced risk of heart disease. In fact, pets might actually help prolong your life. A 1995 study published in the American Journal of Cardiology found that dog ownership increased the likelihood of survival after a heart attack. As for quality of life, a study of Medicare patients found that dog owners had 21 percent fewer physician visits than people who didn't have dogs.
Feeling good all over
Animals also help boost physical activity and improve emotional states. On days when you may be less motivated and want to skip your walk or run, your dog has only to wag his tail and gaze longingly at his leash to get you out the door. It means so much to him -you just have to lace up those shoes and go.
Equally important are the stability and emotional warmth that domestic critters bring to the human world.
They bring us back to a place of caring. When we invest in them, they pay us back with gratitude and love. The more we put in, the more we get back - and that's not always the way it is with humans. A dog who's been saved from wandering the streets or rescued from a cage at the pound never, ever takes his comfortable new world completely for granted. And the unconditional love of pets is a benefit you can enjoy throughout life. Research published in the March 1999 Journal of the American Geriatrics Society showed that seniors who own pets are more active and less likely to experience depression than those who don't.
No pretensions
They don't care where you went to college or what clothes you wear. They don't care if you're having a bad hair day or if you drive a clunker. They don't care who you are and they're without ambition to be something different from what they are. A dog or cat or horse is completely committed to being what it is.
Just being around these creatures tends to make people more content with themselves. Indeed, studies have shown that interaction with pets is often less stressful than socializing with people, because the interaction is so much more straightforward and free of judgment.
Pet wisdom
Other important lessons that our four-legged friends can teach us:
Stretch. Animals are continually stretching - following a nap, while changing position, when they want their stomachs scratched. They remind us, by example, that we need to stretch out and open ourselves up.
Go for the gusto. Animals enthusiastically enjoy routine activities -eating, running and playing. In fact, the ordinary and predictable things are, the more pleasure they seem to get from them. As one delighted dog says to another in a Gary Larsen cartoon, "Oh boy! Dog food again!" Nobody is more "in the moment," more appreciative of what simply is, than a happy dog or cat.
Touch and be touched. The concept of pet therapy is becoming more mainstream. Therapy dogs are routinely brought into hospital wards to brighten patients' days. The comfort of touch is a big part of what animals offer people. Most communication between animals of all kinds is nonverbal, and touch is the most intense form of nonverbal connection. People are free to reach out to animals and connect with them in an innocent but intimate way that isn't possible with most other people.
Respect the cycle of life. Caring for a pet also keeps human beings in tune with every aspect of life, from birth to death, and though loss of pets is deeply sad, and inevitable, given their short life expectancy, they teach us to accept life's limits, and offer irreplaceable comfort in tough times.
Our friends in tough times
Dogs have keen emotional intelligence, so they often sense sadness, anxiety and pain, and do their best to comfort us with their loyal, watchful presence. Stories of dogs lying quietly by the beds of people who are sick and dying, keeping them silent, sympathetic company, abound.
In times of stress, dogs offer offer comic relief and a safe conduit for expressing feeling. Children, especially, may find it easier to talk about what they're feeling if they can express it "through" a beloved pet. Children going through a divorce often derive particular comfort and a feeling of security from the reliable, affectionate presence of a pet. A statement like "Daisy is going to be lonely when I'm at Daddy's house" is an opening into a child's thoughts through which an attentive adult can reach, and, with luck, relieve some of his worry.
Pets can also fill a vital need during times of ultimate stress by providing a sense of routine and normalcy in the midst of tragedy. The dog must still be fed, let in and out, and walked, and that walk around the block helps life go on.
Get petted
For some of us, a pet is a reason to get up in the morning. That friendly, constant 'other' helps us refocus our attention from the negative things in our life.
So, if you're exploring options in stress management, a pet may be the most animated solution.
http://www.canyonranch.com/
(800)742-9000 (413)637-4100
