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.