In the fast pace of modern life, humans are experiencing health challenges at an unprecedented rate. Disease as a consequence of lifestyle is now common and is predicted to steadily rise. Obesity, mental illness and physical inactivity are all creating an increasing burden on our economy. Turning this trend around will require new thinking.

Research in public health has shown that restoring our connections with each other and with our environment will have benefits for individual health and for the community as a whole.

We now know that some of the simplest pleasures in our lives are among the most important to our health and wellbeing. Walking in our neighbourhood, interacting with people and animals, enjoying the natural environment have all been shown to play a significant role in supporting physical and mental health.

Mary M. Herrald, Joe Tomaka,  Amanda Y. Medina

This experiment examined the effects of pet ownership and potential mediating (e.g., social support) and moderating variables (e.g., gender, personality, pet attachment) on completion of a 12-week cardiac rehabilitation program. This experiment assessed pet ownership, personality, and psychosocial variables at the beginning of the program and followed participants through to completion. Results showed that pet owners (96.5%) were significantly more likely to complete cardiac rehabilitation compared with non-owners (79.2%). Covariance analyses ruled out several alternative explanations for the results, including social support, personality variables, personal efficacy, and pet attachment. Results suggest that having a pet may facilitate rehabilitation and that further research is needed to understand how having a pet or being a pet owner improves health outcomes.

Friedmann, E.; Thomas, S. A.; Cook, L. K.; Tsai, C. C.; Picot, S. J.; 

 Anthrozoos.  2007. 20: 1, 51-63

As the population ages and obesity increases, the number of older adult hypertensives is rising dramatically. Uncontrolled hypertension (HTN) increases, and reducing blood pressure (BP), lowers cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and renal morbidity and mortality. Cardiovascular reactivity, defined as exaggerated cardiovascular responses to various stressors, is associated with the development and progression of HTN and associated morbidity and mortality. Speaking is a social stressor, occurring frequently in daily life, that is accompanied by significant surges in BR. The current project was designed as a preliminary study to evaluate whether friendly dogs may be an effective intervention for moderating cardiovascular stress responses in older adult hypertensives. Cognitively intact, community-living older adults (n=11) with resting BPs in the pre- to mild hypertensive range (120-150/80-100 mmHg) participated in the study. The quiet-talk-quiet (QTQ) protocol was used to assess BP responses to speaking. The QTQ protocol, consisting of sitting silently for two minutes, talking for two minutes, and sitting silently for two minutes was repeated twice, once with an unfamiliar, friendly dog in the room, once without the dog. The dog was randomly assigned to be present either for the first or the second QTQ. An ANOVA or ANCOVA with repeated measures three-way interaction between dog presence (dog in, dog not in), activity (quiet, talk), and order (dog in first, no dog in first) was used to examine the moderating effect of the presence of the dog on cardiovascular reactivity to speaking; it was significant for diastolic BP (F(1,9)=12.8, p=0.006), and tended to be significant for systolic BP (F(1,8)=4.4, p=0.12). During speech, BP was (7/2 mmHg) lower when the dog was present than when it was not present. BP while sitting quietly did not differ according to the presence of a dog. Pets might provide a viable means of decreasing BP surges during stressful activities in older hypertensives.

Dembicki, D. and J. Anderson

Journal of Nutrition for the Elderly 15 (3): 15-31. (1996)

The familiar adage "pets are good for your health" is an interesting but largely untested theory. A new model was developed, based on pet ownership leads to better self care, to show possible associations between pet ownership with eating, exercise, nutritional status, and specific cardiovascular risk factors. Seniors aged sixty and above were solicited mainly at senior congregate meals program sites in north-central Colorado (n = 127) to participate in this cross-sectional, observational study. Statistical analyses of questionnaire, anthropometric, physiological, and biochemical data were performed. Dog owners walked significantly longer than non-owners (p < 0.05), and pet owners had significantly lower serum triglycerides than non-owners (p < 0.01). Results suggest that pets may be good for your health.

J. C. McNicholas, G.M.

Journal/Companion Animals in Human Health, Sage Publications, 1998

Contact with companion animals has been hypothesized to enhance the quality of life of their human partners. A search of the scientific literature between 1990 and 1995 uncovered 25 empirical studies in the English language addressing this issue. Using the social support paradigm derived from the human well-being literature, the 25 studies were examined according to the types of support offerred, types of models tested, and types of well-being affected. In addition, studies are analyzed by types of research design employed. The review concludes that although research progress continues to be slow in this area, findings of quality of life benefits derived from companion animal contact are consistent with the research reported during the last two decades in the literature on human social support.

Bergler.

Oxford, Blackwell. 1986.

Our quality of life and well-being are determined to a significant degree by the importance we attach to other people and other things. Relationships between human beings and animals are an integral part of this world of meanings and values and this study is an attempt to examine the nature and significance of the relationship between man and dog and the effect it can have on people's lives. It examines in detail the role of dogs in art and culture, the personality of dog-owners, the role of dogs in psychotherapy (particularly remarkable results, for example, have been obtained with autistic children, the mentally ill and old people), the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disorders, developmental psychology and help for the disabled. The benefits of dog ownership for children and the elderly are explained and illustrated. Scientific evidence is presented througout to support the importance of dogs in improving the life of man and the ways in which dogs could play an even more helpful part.

Friedmann, E., A. H. Katcher, et al.

Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease 171(8): 461-5. (1983)

The effect of the presence of a friendly animal on children's blood pressures and heart rates while resting and their cardiovascular responses to verbalization were examined. The presence of the dog resulted in lower blood pressures both while the children (N = 38) were resting and while they were reading. The effect of the presence of the dog was greater when the dog was present initially than when it was introduced in the second half of the experiment. We speculate that the animal causes the children to modify their perceptions of the experimental situation and the experimenter by making both less threatening and more friendly. This study provides insight into the use of pets as adjuncts in psychotherapy.

Wilson, C. C.

Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, v. 175, p. 606-12. 1987.

The effect of a pet on cardiovascular responses of college students was examined under three test conditions (i.e., reading aloud, reading quietly, and interacting with an unknown dog). A repeated-measures analysis with three covariates was used to examine the effect of the treatment on each of six dependent variables (systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure, heart rate, and State and Trait Anxiety). Reading aloud differed from baseline measures under all treatment conditions (p less than.001) Reading quietly and interacting with a pet were slightly below baseline for all dependent variables with a slightly greater effect by reading quietly than interacting with a pet. Examination of interactions between variables revealed no significant differences. Effects on State anxiety level mirrored cardiovascular responses (p less than.001). Trait anxiety levels remained relatively constant throughout the treatments. Results indicated that interacting with a pet does affect physiological and psychological responses by lowering response levels. A parallel effect was also demonstrated by reading quietly. Given the effect of pet interaction upon selected indicators of health in well college students, these data suggest the relevance of examining this treatment with an "at-risk" group.

Vormbrock, J. K. and J. M. Grossberg

Journal of Behavioral Medicine 11(5): 509-17. (1988)

Recent research on human-dog interactions showed that talking to and petting a dog are accompanied by lower blood pressure (BP) in the person than human conversation. To clarify whether cognition, conditioning, or tactual contact exerted the major influence in this so-called "pet effect," 60 male and female undergraduates with either positive or neutral attitudes toward dogs interacted with a dog tactually, verbally, and visually while BP and heart rate were recorded automatically. Results revealed that (a) subjects' BP levels were lowest during dog petting, higher while talking to the dog, and highest while talking to the experimenter and (b) subjects' heart rates were lower while talking or touching the dog and higher while both touching and talking to the dog. Touch appeared to be major component of the pet effect, while cognitive factors contributed to a lesser degree. Implications for coping with hypertension are discussed, and suggestions for further research are stated.

Allen, K., Blascovich, J., &Mendes, W. B.,

Psychosomatic Medicine., v. 64, p. 727-39. 2002.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the presence of friends, spouses, and pets on cardiovascular reactivity to psychological and physical stress. METHODS: Cardiovascular reactivity was examined among 240 married couples, half of whom owned a pet. Mental arithmetic and cold pressor were performed in one of four randomly assigned social support conditions: alone, with pet or friend (friend present for non-pet owners), with spouse, with spouse and pet/friend.