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Tuesday, December 31, 2002

When you come home from work or school after a long, hard day, who is the first family member to greet you at the door?

In our house that would be Mickey, our chocolate Labrador retriever. He jumps up and down on his big webbed feet and spins in circles. He barks. He looks at us with loving eyes that indicate that by merely walking through the front door we have made him the happiest dog in the world.

Cynics would say that canine door-greeters are actually excited about the prospect of getting a treat or better yet, a full-fledged meal.

But it's really so nice to be greeted by someone who is absolutely thrilled to see you. Dogs don't yell at you if you arrive home later than you said you would. Dogs don't greet you with a "things to do" list.

"Fully 78 percent" of pet owners "report that it's their pet, not their spouse, who greets them first as they come home from work," according to survey results mailed to me by PAWSitive InterAction.

The group describes itself as a "a nonprofit alliance of animal-loving organizations" that "celebrates the human-animal bond" and seeks to educate the public about "the positive benefits of interacting with animals."

Ninety-seven percent of pet owners in another survey reported that their pet makes them smile at least once a day. Seventy-six percent believe their pet eases their stress level. Eighty-five percent believe their pet shows concern when they are sick.

Those results were reported by 1,242 pet owners surveyed by the American Animal Hospital Association. The 27,000 members of that group are animal experts, but they're really not telling us anything new. Animal lovers always have known that pets are good for our bodies and souls.

However, doctors, veterinarians and researchers are now making efforts to prove scientifically that the animals we love have a positive effect on our physical and mental health.

"Seniors who own dogs go to the doctor less often than people who do not own dogs," according to The Delta Society, a nonprofit organization that has worked since 1977 to document the positive effects animals have on human health.

"In a study of 100 Medicare patients, even the most highly stressed dog owners had 21 percent fewer physician contacts than non-dog owners," according to a Delta "Human-Animal Bond Fact Sheet."

The sheet has footnotes, naming the researcher who came up with the facts and the date of the study. Here are some other interesting findings:

Medication costs dropped from an average of $3.80 per patient per day to $1.18 in new nursing home facilities in New York, Missouri and Texas where animals and plants became an integral part of the environment.

Pet owners have higher one-year survival rates following coronary heart disease.

Pet owners have lower blood pressure, lower triglyceride and lower cholesterol levels than non-owners.

Children with autism who have pets have more pro-social behaviors and fewer autistic behaviors.

Children exposed to pets during the first year of life have a lower frequency of allergic rhinitis and asthma.

Seniors who own pets coped better with stress without entering the healthcare system.

The Delta Society fact sheet was mailed to me in a press kit from PAWSitive InterAction.

PAWSitive had a seminar in Atlanta earlier this year to bring together veterinarians, medical doctors and psychiatrists to discuss the therapeutic effects and benefits of human-animal relationships.

One of the key speakers was Dr. Edward Creagan, a Mayo Clinic cancer specialist.

"I prescribe pets to a third of my cancer patients to help them cope with the rigors of their terrible disease," Dr. Creagan says in the PAWSitive report summarizing the seminar. "I consider getting a pet to be one of the easiest and most rewarding ways of living a longer, healthier life."

Dr. Alan Beck, director of the Center for the Human-Animal Bond at the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine, found that Alzheimer's patients gained weight when they watched fish in aquariums during meal times.

Makes you wonder why landlords and condominium boards sometimes work so hard banning pets from their premises -- and in some cases, trying to wrest cats away from little old ladies who have sneaked them into their living quarters.

Many older people, especially those with serious health problems, are unable to keep pets. Many dedicated people who love dogs and people use their highly trained dogs to visit them in hospitals and nursing homes. It's known as pet-assisted therapy.

A telephone caller has asked me if I know any therapy dog owners who would be willing to visit a retired gentleman who lives in the East End of Pittsburgh. This request is a bit different because the man is still living in his own home.

Therapy dog certification would be a plus, in this case, for apparently pets are banned from the premises where he lives. If any Pet Tales readers are able to help this gentleman, please contact me.